Wyoming State Parks
There Are Twelve Fantastic Wyoming State Parks
There are currently twelve State Parks in Wyoming as well as twelve Historic Sites.
Incredibly almost fifty percent of the land in Wyoming is owned by the state, this includes areas such as National Forests and a National Grassland.
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To See A List Of Wyoming State Parks Just Click Here |
A further 3.86 million acres is owned by the state government and the Wyoming State Parks fall into this category. Other agencies such as the National Park Service control thousands of acres. These include the wonders of Yellowstone National Park as well as the Grand Teton National Park and the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. |
The Incredible Scenery Of The Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Also under public lands management are a number of trails, examples of these are the Oregon National Historic Trail, the Pony Express National Historic Trail and the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail.
Geographically Wyoming is an extremely mountainous state with an average elevation of 6,700 feet.
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The western two thirds are the foothills of the Rocky Mountains while the eastern third of the state consists of the High Plains. In that western portion there are more than forty mountains that reach over 13,000 feet in height. The tallest of these is Gannet Peak which stands 13,809 feet above sea level. Across the middle of Wyoming and running in a north to south direction is the Continental Divide. This is the line which defines in which direction the rivers flow. Rivers to the east of the Divide flow eastwards and then down to the Gulf Of Mexico while rivers to the west flow out westwards and into the Pacific Ocean. |
 Gannett Peak The Highest Point In Wyoming |
 The North Platte River Just Below The Pathfinder Dam |
East flowing rivers include the Big Horn, North Platte, Wind and Yellowstone Rivers while those that flow to the west number the Snake and Green Rivers. A number of the Wyoming State Parks are located on reservoirs which have been formed by building dams on these rivers. For example, Boysen State Park is on the Wind River and both Glendo State Park and Guernsey State Park are on the North Platte. In such a mountainous region it is no surprise that the population is not very large. In fact, with about 570,000 residents, Wyoming has the smallest population of all the fifty states. |
There have been many influences in the history of what is now Wyoming. Before the first Europeans arrived Native American tribes such as the Arapaho, Crow, Lakota and Shoshone lived here.
At one point part of the state was controlled by the Spanish and then the Mexicans. The Mexican-American War of 1848 led to the whole area coming under American ownership and it eventually became the 44th state in the Union on July 10th 1890.
Although many of the Wyoming State Parks have superb locations none of them can compete with the state`s number one attraction which is the Yellowstone National Park.
The Castle Geyser In The Amazing Yellowstone National Park
Reports about Yellowstone came firstly from John Colter, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition and then later from the frontiersman Jim Bridger.
The reports were dismissed as tall stories until government organised expeditions went to see for themselves. This soon led to the creation of the Yellowstone National Park in 1872. This was the world`s first National Park and people have been admiring its wonders ever since.
This map of Wyoming shows just how many large rivers there are in the state -
Map Of The Rivers In Wyoming
Here is a list of Wyoming State Parks -
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