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Introduction
Wyoming, state in the western United States. It is bordered by Montana on the north, South Dakota and Nebraska on the east, Colorado and Utah on the south, and Utah, Idaho and Montana on the west. The land within these borders was first called Wyoming in 1865, when a member of the Congress of the United States from Ohio suggested that a new territory be carved from Dakota, Utah, and Idaho territories. The name Wyoming is a contraction of the Native American word mecheweamiing ("at the big plains"), and was first used by the Delaware people as a name for the Wyoming Valley in northeastern Pennsylvania. Wyoming is known as the Cowboy State and the Equality State. The latter recognizes Wyoming as the first to specifically give women the right to vote, which it did as a territory in 1869 and retained upon entering the Union. Cheyenne is Wyoming's capital and largest city. Wyoming became a territory in 1868 and entered the Union on July 10, 1890, as the 44th state. It has a wealth of mineral and agricultural resources, and in the late 1990s mining and agriculture still played major roles in the state's economy. During the same period the state ranked 50th among the 50 states in population and 50th in manufacturing. Wyoming is a state of great natural beauty, and each year increasing numbers of tourists are attracted by the state's unspoiled scenic wonders.
Physical Geography
Wyoming ranks ninth in size among the states of the Union, covering 253,347 sq km ( 97,818 sq mi), including 1,849 sq km (714 sq mi) of inland water. The state has a maximum extent from east to west of 586 km (364 mi) and from north to south of 444 km (276 mi). About one-third of the state is mountainous. Elevations range from 945 m (3,099 ft) along the Belle Fourche River in the northeastern corner of the state to 4,207 m (13,804 ft) atop Gannett Peak in the Wind River Range, part of the Rocky Mountains. The mean elevation is 2,040 m (6,700 ft). The federal government owns 50 percent of the land, much of it in national parks, forests, or preserves.
Natural Regions
Wyoming contains parts of four major natural regions, or physiographic provinces, of the United States: the Southern Rocky Mountains, the Wyoming Basins, the Middle Rocky Mountains, and the Great Plains. The first three are subdivisions of a broader region known as the Rocky Mountain System (see Rocky Mountains); the Great Plains are part of the Interior Plains. The Great Plains cover most of the eastern third of the state in a strip that broadens from south to north. It is an upland plateau, generally undulating, and in places broken by rough topography, low hills, and isolated buttes. The Black Hills of South Dakota extend into the northeastern corner of the state, their outstanding physical feature being Devils Tower, a volcanic neck vaulting 390 m (1,280 ft) from the floor of the surrounding valley. Farther south three ranges of the Southern Rocky Mountains extend pronglike into Wyoming from their main massif in Colorado. They are the Laramie Mountains, about 230 km (about 140 mi) long, bordering the Great Plains; the Medicine Bow Mountains, about 80 km (about 50 mi) long, slightly to the west; and the Sierra Madre, about 50 km (about 30 mi) long, even farther west. The Wyoming Basins, in central Wyoming, comprise a high arid plateau ringed by mountains, except on the northeast, where the region opens out on the Great Plains through a broad gap between the Southern and Middle Rocky Mountains. The basins together cover a somewhat larger area of the state than the Great Plains. General elevations range from 1,800 to 2,300 m (6,000 to 7,500 ft). The region is actually a series of basins broken up by low ridges. Far more striking than the ridges, which rarely rise more than 300 m (1,000 ft) above the surface, are the deep canyons carved in the landscape by millions of years of erosion by streams and rivers originating in the nearby mountains. The basins are drained northward by the Bighorn River, eastward by the North Platte River, and southward by the Green River. The Continental Divide passes through the Wyoming Basins, but it splits west of Rawlins. The two arms of the divide come together again near the Wind River Mountains, forming the Great Divide Basin. Water in the Great Divide Basin flows to a series of saltflats and ponds in an area known as the Chain-of-Lakes, not to the Atlantic or Pacific oceans. The Continental Divide is essentially treeless in this area, dominated by native shrubs such as sagebrush, greasewood, and saltbush. North America's largest area of active sand dunes occurs in the region, extending in a linear pattern from northeast of Rock Springs across the Great Divide Basin to south of the Ferris Mountains north of Rawlins. The Middle Rocky Mountains occupy the northwestern quarter of the state and include the Bighorn, Owl Creek, Gros Ventre, Wind River, Absaroka, and Teton ranges. The highest point in this spectacularly beautiful region is Gannett Peak, in the Wind River Range. The Tetons are some of the most precipitous mountains on the North American continent, rising abruptly along a 60-km (40-mi) front near Wyoming's western border, with many peaks rising above 3,000 m (10,000 ft). The highest is the Grand Teton, rising 4,197 m (13,771 ft). In the northwestern corner of Wyoming is Yellowstone National Park, a volcanic area containing about 3,000 hot springs and geysers and scored deeply at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. East of the park lies the sheltered, mountain-ringed Bighorn Basin.
Climate
Wyoming has a continental climate, characterized by moderately warm summers at low elevations, long and cold winters, and generally low amounts of precipitation. Average July temperatures range from about 17° C (about 63° F) in Yellowstone National Park, in the mountainous northwest, to 20° C (68° F) in Cheyenne, in the southeast. January averages are -7° C (19° F) in the national park and -3° C (27° F) in Cheyenne. The basins, which lie in the rain shadow of mountains, are very dry, with an average annual precipitation of about 250 mm (about 10 in) or less; the Great Plains region has an annual average of about 380 mm (about 15 in), and the Black Hills region receives slightly more. Thunderstorms and hailstorms are relatively frequent in summer. The annual snowfall ranges from about 500 mm (about 20 in) in the Bighorn Basin to well over 5,100 mm (over 200 in) in the higher mountains, where annual precipitation can be 1,140 mm (45 in) or more. A distinctive climate feature is the high and persistent winds of the Wyoming Basin. The growing season in Wyoming diminishes generally from east to west, from more than 120 days in the Plains region to less than 80 days in the mountainous northwest.
Plant Life
The plant life of Wyoming includes about 2,200 species that form a variety of grasslands, desert shrublands, forests, mountain meadows, and alpine tundra. Forests occur on about one-fifth of the state, primarily at higher elevations where the annual precipitation is higher. In the lower mountains, such as in the Black Hills, the forests are dominated by ponderosa pine. Farther west, Douglas fir dominates the forests at lower elevations. The climate is cooler and wetter in the higher mountains, which is favorable for trees such as lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, and aspen. The alpine timberline occurs at about 3,000 m (about 9,800 ft) in the northern part of the state, and at about 3,500 m (about 11,500 ft) in the south. Subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, whitebark pine, and limber pine occur only as wind-swept shrubs at the upper limits for tree growth. The alpine tundra above the timberline is dominated by a variety of grasses and other herbaceous plants, some of which also are found in the Arctic tundra. The temperature during the summer in alpine tundra can be quite warm during the day, but frequently it drops to below freezing at night. Several species of sagebrush are characteristic of much of the lowlands in Wyoming. The most common species, big sagebrush, forms extensive shrublands in the western two-thirds of the state. Western wheatgrass, blue grama, needleleaf sedge, Indian ricegrass, junegrass, scarlet globemallow, fringed sagewort, phlox, milkvetch, rabbitbrush, and pricklypear cactus are also common. The grasslands in the eastern part of the state are dominated by the same species and others, but sagebrush is less common. Greasewood is a shrub that occurs in low areas that have standing water in the spring, but which become dry saltflats later in the summer. In the driest environments, where the annual precipitation is less than 200 mm (8 in), desert shrubs such as saltbush, winterfat, and spiny hopsage occur with various species of sagebrush. Juniper and mountain-mahogany are common shrubs on ridges and in the foothills of the mountains, often occurring with limber pine or ponderosa pine. The most luxuriant plant growth in the lowlands occurs along streams and rivers, where the soils are wetter for a longer time during the summer. Cottonwood trees and a variety of shrubs, especially willows, are widespread in these riparian environments. Blue spruce, alder, and box elder occur with the cottonwood and willows in some areas.
Animal Life
Wyoming's diverse habitat allows an abundance of wildlife, with more than 600 species found in the state. Wyoming provides refuge for some of North America's largest animals, including the moose, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mule deer, grizzly bear, and mountain lion. The largest herds of pronghorn antelope in the world still range over Wyoming's plains, and large herds of elk find a home in its mountains. Smaller mammals include the fox, mink, coyote, bobcat, jackrabbit, cottontail, otter, beaver, and raccoon. The trumpeter swan, once nearly extinct, can be found in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, along with the white pelican, great blue heron, and California gull. Birds of prey include the bald eagle, golden eagle, osprey, and several kinds of hawks and owls. Other birds include the sage grouse, wild turkey, ring-necked pheasant, Canada goose, and numerous species of ducks. The prairie rattlesnake, the state's only poisonous snake, is found at lower elevations. Brook, cutthroat, brown, and rainbow trout are found in many mountain streams, although the cutthroat is the only trout native to Wyoming. Bass, walleye, crappie, perch, channel catfish, and others are found in reservoirs at lower elevations.
Economic Activities
Since its early settlement in the mid-19th century, Wyoming has had an economy based on its natural resources. Cattle ranching and coal mining became major economic activities in the late 19th century. Farming grew in importance in the early 20th century, and the fossil fuel industry was diversified as new deposits of petroleum and natural gas were discovered. Today, mining is the most important sector of the state economy, followed by transportation and utilities. Of growing importance to many communities, and the state as a whole, is the tourism industry. Visitors are attracted during the summer and fall by the state's extensive national parks and forests, while in the winter many come to the state's world-renowned ski resorts. The manufacturing sector, however, remains relatively undeveloped. In 1997, 315,300 people held jobs in Wyoming. Some 25 percent held jobs in the service industries, which include many people catering to tourists. Another 21 percent worked in wholesale or retail trade; 20 percent in federal, state, or local government, including those in the military; 7 percent in construction; 7 percent in finance, insurance, or real estate; 6 percent in mining; 5 percent in farming (including agricultural services) or forestry; 5 percent in transportation or public utilities; and 4 percent in manufacturing. In 1997, 9 percent of Wyoming's workers were members of a union. The federal government owns one-half of the land in Wyoming. About 80 percent of Wyoming's mineral resources are located on this federal land, which is open to private producers who pay a royalty on the riches they extract. The Wyoming state government receives about one-half of the federal royalties. Ranchers are also allowed to lease, and with special permission even fence, federal land to graze their herds.
Population Patterns
In the 1990 national census, Wyoming ranked 50th in the nation, with a total population of 453,588. The number of residents decreased by 3.4 percent from 1980. The drop was in part a result of a slowdown in the state's mining-dependent economy, the expansion of which had made Wyoming one of the fastest-growing states in the country during the 1970s. Estimates show the state population again on the upswing; the estimated population for 1998 was 480,907. Population density was 1.9 persons per sq km (5 per sq mi) in 1998. Only Alaska was less densely populated. In recent decades, Wyomingites have been moving away from isolated farm areas, and, by 1990, 65 percent lived in cities or towns. Overall, Wyoming remains a land of wide-open spaces checkered by 97 municipalities, mostly small towns with a few medium-sized cities.
Principal Cities
In 1996 only six cities had a sizable population: Cheyenne (53,729), Casper (48,800), Laramie (26,583), Rock Springs (19,742), Gillette (19,202), and Sheridan (14,730). Cheyenne, the state capital, is a commercial, industrial, and transportation center and a gateway to the Rocky Mountains. It is the site of the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, an important United States defense arsenal. Casper is located in the heart of Wyoming's oil fields. With its refineries and oil-field equipment industry, it is the state's chief manufacturing and wholesale trade center. Laramie is the home of the University of Wyoming and several museums, including the Ivinson Mansion, and a park that features the recently restored Territorial Prison as well as displays dedicated to the lives of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, of the late 1800s. Rock Springs, Gillette, and Sheridan are smaller trade centers for mining, agriculture, and associated enterprises. Although more than 50 nationalities are represented in some of the mining communities, such as Rock Springs, 94.2 percent of the people are of European descent who often came from Texas or the Midwest. Native Americans make up 2.2 percent of the state's total population. A majority of them live on the Wind River Reservation, 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) in west central Wyoming, the home of the Shoshone and Arapaho tribes. Some 0.7 percent of the population is black, 0.6 Asian or Pacific Islander, and 2.3 percent are mixed or did not report a race in the 1990 census. Hispanics, who can be of any race, represent 5.5 percent of the population.
Education
The first school in Wyoming was established at Fort Laramie in 1852. In 1869 the territorial legislature passed Wyoming's first school law, one of the earliest in the United States to provide for a system of free public schools supported by general taxation. Further legislation, enacted four years later, emphasized uniformity of curricula and standardization of requirements for teacher certification. It laid the groundwork for the present system of public education in Wyoming, enacted by the first state legislature in 1890. A constitutional amendment, enacted in 1948, provided for the establishment of a statewide property tax for the support of public schools. The state system of public education is supervised by a state superintendent of public instruction and a state board of education. Education in Wyoming is compulsory for children from the age of 7 to 16. Of the state's children, only 2 percent attend private schools. In the 1994-1995 school year Wyoming spent $6,160 on each student's education, compared to a national average of $5,988. There were 14.8 students for every teacher (the national average was 17.3). Of those older than 25 years of age in the state, 90 percent had a high school diploma, the fifth best rate among the states.
Higher Education
The state-supported University of Wyoming, the only four-year institution of higher education in Wyoming, opened at Laramie in 1887. In 1996 the state had 8 public and 1 private institution of higher learning. They included the two-year institutions Casper College (1945), in Casper; Eastern Wyoming College (1948), in Torrington; Sheridan College (1948), in Sheridan; Northwest College (1946), in Powell; Central Wyoming College (1967), in Riverton; Western Wyoming College (1959), in Rock Springs; and Laramie County Community College (1969), in Cheyenne.
Recreation and Places of Interest
When the explorer John Frémont first saw the mountains of Wyoming in 1842, he remarked that it seemed as if "Nature had collected all her beauties together in one chosen place." Each year countless visitors to Wyoming must agree, as they enjoy its magnificent forests and parks, use its excellent facilities for camping, climbing, and hunting, or fish along its crystal-clear streams. Wyoming's Wild-West past heightens its color and interest. The state is one of the most popular vacationlands in the United States and a mecca for all Americans who relish the outdoor life.
Annual Events
In addition to county fairs and festivals, many of Wyoming's most interesting events center around the traditions of its frontier-era residents. One of the oldest rodeos in the nation takes place during Cheyenne Frontier Days, held annually during the last full week of July. Other important rodeos include the Cody Stampede Rodeo and the Sheridan Rodeo, also held every July. However, every Sunday is rodeo day somewhere in the Cowboy State. The Wyoming State Fair is held each August in Douglas. The fur trapping days of the early 1800s are commemorated each year at the Fort Bridger Rendezvous on Labor Day, on Fort Bridger, and the Green River Rendezvous during the second week of July, near Pinedale. During these festivals, visitors participate in events that involve Native Americans and modern-day mountain men.
Government
Wyoming's state constitution went into effect in 1890, at the time Wyoming was admitted to the Union. It has been amended many times. Amendments may be proposed in the state legislature or at a special constitutional convention convened with the approval of both the legislature and a majority of the Wyoming electorate. Proposed amendments carry only if more than half the voters at the election vote for them. An amendment approved in 1968 sets procedures for citizens to follow to initiate legislation. The state's chief executive, the governor, is elected for a four-year term. The governor may veto laws or individual items of appropriations measures passed by the state legislature. The legislature may override the governor's veto by a two-thirds vote in each house. Other elected officials in the executive branch of the state government include the secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, and superintendent of public instruction. All are elected for four-year terms and serve on the administrative boards governing the state. All elected officials are limited to serving two four-year terms in a 16-year period. In case of a vacancy in the governorship, the secretary of state serves as acting governor until a new governor is inaugurated following the next general election. In 1999 Jim Geringer, a Republican, was governor. The state legislature consists of a Senate of 30 members and a House of Representatives of 60 members. Senators are elected for four-year terms, and representatives are elected for two-year terms. General sessions of the legislature, lasting up to 40 days, convene on the second Tuesday in January of odd-numbered years. Budget sessions, lasting up to 20 days, convene on the third Monday of February in even-numbered years. The governor may call special legislative sessions at other times. The state constitution limits the legislature to meeting no more than 60 days (except for special sessions) in the two-year period for which members of the House of Representatives are elected. The highest state court in Wyoming is the supreme court. The court consists of five justices retained for eight-year terms. The justice closest to the expiration of an eight-year term serves as the chief justice. The major trial courts in the state are the district courts, where judges serve six-year terms. Supreme court and district court justices are selected by a nominating committee, which chooses the names of three qualified lawyers in the state each time an opening on the bench occurs. The three names are submitted to the governor, who chooses one to serve for the next year or until the next general election. At that time the person appears unopposed on ballots, where voters have a choice to "retain" or "not retain" the justice. Lower state courts include justice of the peace courts and police courts. Each of Wyoming's 23 counties is governed by a board of county commissioners, who are elected for four-year terms. Other elected county officials include the county clerk, treasurer, assessor, attorney, sheriff, and coroner. Most of the municipalities in Wyoming have the mayor and city council form of municipal government. However, Casper, which is the second largest city, and Laramie, the third largest, are both governed under the council and city manager form of government. Wyoming has one member in the U.S. House of Representatives and two members in the U.S. Senate. The state has three electoral votes in presidential elections.
Postwar Economic Developments
The only major military installation, F. E. Warren Air Force Base (formerly Fort D. A. Russell), was a World War II army training base prior to establishment of an independent U.S. Air Force in the early 1950s. The Atlas intercontinental ballistic missiles were deployed there in 1959, followed by the Minuteman system in the next decade. In 1982 Warren became home to the MX missile system. Uranium deposits were discovered in scattered locations throughout the state in the 1950s. By 1956, 34 uranium companies operated in the state; this number declined sharply after a major accident in 1979 at the Three-Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. The uranium town of Jeffrey City declined in population from more than 2,000 to fewer than 50 residents in 1980. The town of Shirley Basin, which housed a population of 500 in the 1970s, was abandoned completely in 1993. Although coal output dropped sharply after the war, development of Wyoming's petroleum resources boomed in the 1950s and 1960s. The completion of a pipeline through the Green River Basin in 1955 stimulated further exploration. The Arab oil embargo pushed domestic oil prices to record levels in the 1970s, prompting extensive oil exploration throughout Wyoming. Major new fields were found in southwestern Wyoming and in the Powder River Basin. Most of Wyoming's crude oil and natural gas is pumped out of the state for processing. Consequently, the industry creates significant income for the state, but does not employ a large number of people. Oil prices dropped sharply in the early 1980s along with the price of Wyoming coal. Many workers in the mineral industry lost their jobs, and many moved away from the state. The state slipped into a protracted economic depression nearly as serious as the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s. The state's population, which had jumped by more than 41 percent from 1970 to 1980, actually declined by 3.4 percent from 1980 to 1990.
Postwar Political Developments
In the early 1960s, reapportionment of the state legislature became a political issue. Wyoming's cities, which had grown significantly, were underrepresented in the legislature, which had not been reapportioned since 1933. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1962, which decided that people whose votes were diluted by apportionment could sue in federal court refueled local protests, and the legislature passed a reapportionment act in 1963. However, the act was held unconstitutional. Eventually, after the legislature was unable to agree on another formula, a plan was imposed by the U.S. District Court. Wyoming has no state income tax. The sales tax, first passed in 1935, produces a significant share of government tax revenue. In 1969 Wyoming passed a mineral severance tax, which collected a percentage of the industry's profits for the state. The state also created a trust fund to help communities cope with economic dependence and environmental issues related to the mining industry. The 1994 severance taxes on coal, oil, and other minerals brought in nearly $250 million, almost one-third of the state's budget. In the 1990s politicians called for diversifying Wyoming's economy so that it would rely less on the mineral industry. Such campaigns, however, have been met with ambivalence. Many Wyoming natives appear to prefer that the state remain lightly populated and free of industry. Water rights issues have been important throughout the 20th century. Wyoming's constitution granted the state ownership over all the state's water. The State Engineer awards water users permits for water use, and permit applicants are required to prove that they are planning to use the water for a "beneficial use." Problems arose because the definition of "beneficial use" was unclear. For example, for many years, maintaining fish habitat was not considered a "beneficial use" of water but in 1986, a measure was passed by voters that allowed the State Game and Fish Commission to make such a claim for the water. Since the 1980s, the state has been engaged in lawsuits over water rights with states downstream. Nebraska and Wyoming have had litigation over control of the North Platte River. The federal government controls close to half of the state's land area. This land is primarily administered by the National Park Service, the United States Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. Conflicts between state and federal agencies over land use have a long history in the state. In the late 1920s Wyoming Congressman Charles E. Winter asked Congress to return control over federal lands to the state. Unsuccessful attempts, such as this one, to gain greater control over federal lands have been led by ranchers and individuals from the mining industry. Many other residents, particularly those who enjoy outdoor sports such as hunting, fishing and hiking, generally have opposed these cries for state control over public lands. The issues involving control of public lands remain among the most hotly debated among the people of Wyoming.
"Wyoming," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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