The U.S. state of Wyoming lies in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States and has a varied geography. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the south. Wyoming is the least populous U.S. state and has the second-lowest population density behind Alaska.

Wyoming's western half is covered mostly by the ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the eastern half of the state is high-elevation prairie called the High Plains. It is drier and windier than the rest of the country, being split between semi-arid and continental climates with greater temperature extremes. Almost half of the land in Wyoming is owned by the federal government, generally protected for public uses. The state ranks 6th by area and fifth by proportion of a state's land owned by the federal government.MainEnvironment.org Public Land Ownership by State, 1995 Main Environment.org Federal lands within Wyoming include two national parks (Grand Teton and Yellowstone), two national recreation areas, two national monuments, several national forests, historic sites, fish hatcheries, and wildlife refuges.

Climate

Wyoming's climate is generally semi-arid and continental (Köppen climate classification BSk), and is drier and windier in comparison to most of the United States with greater temperature extremes. Much of this is due to the topography of the state. Summers in Wyoming are warm with July high temperatures averaging between in most of the state. With increasing elevation, however, this average drops rapidly with locations above averaging around . Summer nights throughout the state are characterized by a rapid cooldown with even the hottest locations averaging in the range at night. In most of the state, most of the precipitation tends to fall in the late spring and early summer. Winters are cold, but are variable with periods of sometimes extreme cold interspersed between generally mild periods, with Chinook winds providing unusually warm temperatures in some locations.

Wyoming is a dry state with much of the land receiving less than of rainfall per year. Precipitation depends on elevation with lower areas in the Big Horn Basin averaging , making the area nearly a true desert. The lower areas in the North and on the eastern plains typically average around , making the climate there semi-arid. Some mountain areas do receive a good amount of precipitation, or more, much of it as snow, sometimes or more annually. The state's highest recorded temperature is at Basin on July 12, 1900, and the lowest recorded temperature is at Riverside on February 9, 1933.

The number of thunderstorm days vary across the state with the southeastern plains of the state having the most days of thunderstorm activity. Thunderstorm activity in the state is highest during the late spring and early summer. The southeastern corner of the state is the most vulnerable part of the state to tornado activity. Moving away from that point and westwards, the incidence of tornadoes drops dramatically with the west part of the state showing little vulnerability. Tornadoes, where they occur, tend to be small and brief, unlike some of those that occur farther east. The most destructive tornado to occur in Wyoming happened on July 16, 1979, in Cheyenne and caused one death and 40 injuries.

Climate data Average maximum and minimum temperatures, and average rainfall. Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average max. temperature °F (°C) 32(0) 37(3) 45(7) 56(13) 66(19) 78(26) 87(31) 85(29) 74(23) 60(16) 44(7) 34(1) 58(14) Average min. temperature°F (°C) 12(−11) 16(−9) 21(−6) 28(−2) 37(3) 46(8) 54(12) 51(11) 41(5) 32(0) 21(−6) 14(−10) 31(-1) Average rainfallinches (mm) 0.6(15.2) 0.6(15.2) 1.0(25.4) 1.6(40.6) 2.1(53.3) 1.5(38.1) 1.3(33.0) 0.7(17.8) 0.9(22.9) 1.0(25.4) 0.8(20.3) 0.7(17.8) 12.8(325.1) Source:

Average maximum and minimum temperatures, and average rainfall. Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average max. temperature °F (°C) 24(−4) 28(−2) 37(3) 47(8) 58(14) 68(20) 78(26) 77(25) 67(19) 54(12) 37(3) 24(−4) 49(9) Average min. temperature°F (°C) -1(−18) 2(−17) 10(−12) 21(−6) 30(−1) 36(2) 41(5) 38(3) 31(−1) 22(−6) 14(−10) 0(−18) 20(-7) Average rainfallinches (mm) 2.6(66.0) 1.9(48.3) 1.6(40.6) 1.4(35.6) 1.9(48.3) 1.8(45.7) 1.3(33.0) 1.3(33.0) 1.5(38.1) 1.3(33.0) 2.3(58.4) 2.5(63.5) 21.4(543.6) Source:

Location and size

As specified in the designating legislation for the Territory of Wyoming, Wyoming's borders are lines of latitude 41°N and 45°N, and longitude 104°3'W and 111°3'W (27 and 34 west of the Washington Meridian)—a geodesic quadrangle. Due to surveying inaccuracies during the 19th century, Wyoming's legal border deviates from the true latitude and longitude lines by up to in some spots, especially in the mountainous region along the 45th parallel. Wyoming is bordered on the north by Montana, on the east by South Dakota and Nebraska, on the south by Colorado, on the southwest by Utah, and on the west by Idaho. It is the tenth largest state in the United States in total area, containing and is made up of 23 counties. From the north border to the south border it is ; and from the east to the west border is at its south end and at the north end.

Natural landforms Mountain ranges

The Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. The state is a great plateau broken by many mountain ranges. Surface elevations range from the summit of Gannett Peak in the Wind River Mountain Range, at , to the Belle Fourche River valley in the state's northeast corner, at . In the northwest are the Absaroka, Owl Creek, Gros Ventre, Wind River, and the Teton ranges. In the north central are the Big Horn Mountains; in the northeast, the Black Hills; and in the southern region the Laramie, Snowy, and Sierra Madre ranges.

The Snowy Range in the south central part of the state is an extension of the Colorado Rockies both in geology and in appearance. The Wind River Range in the west central part of the state is remote and includes more than 40 mountain peaks in excess of tall in addition to Gannett Peak, the highest peak in the state. The Big Horn Mountains in the north central portion are somewhat isolated from the bulk of the Rocky Mountains.

The Teton Range in the northwest extends for , part of which is included in Grand Teton National Park. The park includes the Grand Teton, the second highest peak in the state.

The Continental Divide spans north–south across the central portion of the state. Rivers east of the divide drain into the Missouri River Basin and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. They are the North Platte, Wind, Big Horn and the Yellowstone rivers. The Snake River in northwest Wyoming eventually drains into the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean, as does the Green River through the Colorado River Basin.

The Continental Divide forks in the south central part of the state in an area known as the Great Divide Basin where water that precipitates onto or flows into it cannot reach an ocean—it all sinks into the soil and eventually evaporates.

Several rivers begin in or flow through the state, including the Yellowstone River, Bighorn River, Green River, and the Snake River.

Basins Much of Wyoming is covered with large basins containing different eco-regions, from shrublands to smaller patches of desert. Regions of the state classified as basins contain everything from large geologic formations to sand dunes and vast unpopulated spaces. Basin landscapes are typically at lower elevations and include rolling hills, valleys, mesas, terraces and other rugged terrain, but also include natural springs as well as rivers and artificial reservoirs. They have common plant species such as various subspecies of sagebrush, juniper and grasses such as wheatgrass, but basins are known for their diversity of plant and animal species.

Islands

Wyoming has 32 named islands; the majority are in Jackson Lake and Yellowstone Lake, within Yellowstone National Park in the northwest portion of the state. The Green River in the southwest also contains a number of islands.

Regions and administration Counties

The state of Wyoming has 23 counties. Thirteen were there when Wyoming became a state in 1890 and ten more have been created since then.

+The 23 counties of the state of Wyoming Rank County Population Rank County Population 1 Laramie 98,327 13 Converse 13,809 2 Natrona 79,547 14 Goshen 13,378 3 Campbell 46,242 15 Big Horn 11,906 4 Sweetwater 43,534 16 Sublette 9,799 5 Fremont 39,803 17 Platte 8,562 6 Albany 38,332 18 Johnson 8,476 7 Sheridan 30,210 19 Washakie 8,064 8 Park 29,568 20 Crook 7,410 9 Teton 23,265 21 Weston 6,927 10 Uinta 20,495 22 Hot Springs 4,696 11 Lincoln 19,265 23 Niobrara 2,397 12 Carbon 15,303 Wyoming Total 579,315 Wyoming license plates have a number on the left that indicates the county where the vehicle is registered, ranked by an earlier census. Specifically, the numbers are representative of the property values of the counties in 1930. The county license plate numbers are: LicensePlatePrefix County LicensePlatePrefix County LicensePlatePrefix County 1 Natrona 9 Big Horn 17 Campbell 2 Laramie 10 Fremont 18 Crook 3 Sheridan 11 Park 19 Uinta 4 Sweetwater 12 Lincoln 20 Washakie 5 Albany 13 Converse 21 Weston 6 Carbon 14 Niobrara 22 Teton 7 Goshen 15 Hot Springs 23 Sublette 8 Platte 16 Johnson  

Cities and towns

The State of Wyoming has 99 incorporated municipalities. +Most Populous Wyoming Cities and Towns Rank City County Population 1 Cheyenne Laramie 63,957 2 Casper Natrona 57,461 3 Laramie Albany 32,473 4 Gillette Campbell 31,903 5 Rock Springs Sweetwater 23,082 6 Sheridan Sheridan 17,849 7 Green River Sweetwater 11,978 8 Evanston Uinta 11,704 9 Riverton Fremont 10,996 10 Jackson Teton 10,429 11 Cody Park 9,828 12 Rawlins Carbon 8,658 13 Lander Fremont 7,503 14 Torrington Goshen 6,701 15 Powell Park 6,310 16 Douglas Converse 6,273

In 2005, 50.6% of Wyomingites lived in one of the 13 most populous Wyoming municipalities.

Metropolitan areas

The United States Census Bureau has defined two Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) and seven Micropolitan Statistical Areas (MiSA) for the State of Wyoming. In 2008, 30.4% of Wyomingites lived in either of the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and 73% lived in either a Metropolitan Statistical Area or a Micropolitan Statistical Area. +Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Census Area County Population Cheyenne Laramie 98,976 Casper Natrona 79,115 Gillette Campbell 46,140 Rock Springs Sweetwater 43,051 Riverton Fremont 39,531 Laramie Albany 38,601 Jackson Teton County, Wyoming 23,081 Teton County, Idaho 11,640 Total 34,721 Sheridan Sheridan 30,233 Evanston Uinta 20,299

See also Rocky Mountains Geography of Montana Continental Divide

Notes

References