The Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. The western two thirds of the state is covered with the mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains. The eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High Plains. The Continental Divide goes north south across the state’s central portion. Rivers east of the divide drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Rivers to the west drain into the Pacific.
Wyoming is one of only three states (along with Colorado and Utah) to have borders along only straight lines rather than being defined by natural landmarks. It is almost a perfect rectangle, 90 miles wider than it is long.
Here are five points of interest that you will want to be familiar with when sending clients to this state.
1. Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone, the country’s first and largest national park, takes up the state’s northwest corner. Its mysterious geysers, hot springs, petrified forests, and waterfalls stirred the imagination of all who heard of them. Preserved for posterity in 1872 as the world’s first national park, Yellowstone has lost none of its aura.
Because hot molten rock, or magma, which is usually 10 to 30 miles below the surface, is only one to three miles below the earth’s crust here, the region has more geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and volcanic steam vents than are found in all the rest of the world. Attractions such as Old Faithful, draw more than 2 million visitors to the park each year. It is the largest U.S. park outside of Alaska and vies with the Grand Canyon as the most famous.
The park has 310 miles of paved roads that can be accessed from five different entrances — three from Montana and two from Wyoming. The National Park Service maintains nine visitor centers and museums.
2. Grand Teton National Park
Bordering Yellowstone ten miles to the south is Grand Teton National Park. The John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway connects the parks. The Teton Range rises abruptly from a green valley named Jackson Hole. The relatively young (9 million years old) mountains of the park are so dramatic and Alpine-looking that they are seldom overlooked by visitors.
The park is a destination for hiking, fishing, boating, mountaineering, and rock climbing. Trails are well marked and routes to the summits of most peaks are long established. For the experienced and fit, most peaks can be climbed in one day. Any excursion requiring an overnight stay in the backcountry requires a permit. Mountain guides offer instruction and climbing escorts for those who are less experienced. For fishing, the park is one of the few places to catch Snake River cutthroat trout.
3. The Snake River
The Snake River starts out as a small river flowing into Jackson Lake. In the summer its waters provide white-water rafting and float trips. The town of Jackson is the center of activity in the area. Jackson is a winter ski destination. The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, 12 miles northwest of town has abundant steep terrain and one of the continent’s highest vertical drops.
4. Devils Tower National Monument
The state’s third most well known natural sight is located in its northeast corner, just north of I-90. Devils Tower National Monument is a remnant of a volcano rising nearly 865 feet from the prairie like a huge tree stump. The natural landmark was dedicated in 1906 as the country’s first national monument. It changes colors during the day. Its unique, unworldly look and location were made more famous when it was used as an alien landing site in the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
5. Bighorn Mountains
The Bighorn Mountains, halfway between Devils Tower and Yellowstone, soar 6,000 feet above the grassy plains to a height of 9,000 feet. Bighorn Canyon, Bighorn National Forest, and the National Recreational Area provide a wealth of western life and activity. The Medicine Wheel, within the mountains and difficult to reach, is a circular arrangement of irregular stones believed to have religious or astronomical purposes to Native Americans.
