WYOMING (Indian, plains'), a State of the United States, is the Rocky Mountain region, beta ern the lels, lat. 41' and 45' N, and between ks I04' 3' and 111° 3' W. Portions of the Louisi ana Purchase, the Oregon claim, the Texas an nexation and the Mexican cession are included in the State. It is botmded on the north by Montana, east by South Dakota. south by Colo rado and Utah, and west by Utah. Idaho and Montana. The boundary tines are all straight. The greatest extent is iron east to west, 355 miles (north to south, 276 miles). Area (ex cluding Yellowstone National Park), 97,575 square miles. Wyoming ranks eighth in size among the States of the Union.
Topography.— The State averages from 5,000 to 7,000 feet above sea-level and is trav ersed by the main chain of the Rocky Moun tains. From the plateau lands rise a number of lofty ranges and peaks, some of them ap proaching 14,000 feet in altitude. The largest mountain masses are in the southern, north western and north central parts of the State. In the extreme northeast, the Black Hills of South Dakota project into Crook and Weston counties. Other conspicuous groups of outlying hills in this region are the pine-clad Hartville Mountains, north of Guernsey, and the Bear Lodge Mountains. The principal mountains in the south are, first, the Laramie Mountains, which rise to an average height of 1,000 feet above the plain, culminating in Laramie Peak (9.0J'0 feet) and the Medicine Bow Mountains, called locally the Snowy Range. a lofty mass on whose western slopes gather the waters of the North Platte. The highest point in this range is Medicine Bow Peak (12,005 feet). The western watershed of the North Platte is formed by the Sierra Madre Mountains, pro jecting north from Colorado. In the extreme southwestern corner of the State are the lofty Uintah Mountains. The general trend of all these is northwest and southeast, save the Uin tah Mountains, which run east and west. The entire northwest portion of the State comprises a lofty mountain mass broken here and there by small valleys. The Absaroka Range (partly in the Yellowstone National Park) forms the Continental Divide. To the west lie the Teton and Snake River ranges near the Idaho bound ary. The highest point is the Grand Teton
(13,747 feet). To the south and east of these be the Gros Ventre, Salt River, Wyoming and Wind River ranges, the latter projecting well into the west central portion of the State and including such lofty peaks as Fremont (13,730 feet), Gannett (13,785 feet), the highest in the State, and Atlantic (12,700 feet). In north central Wyoming arc the isolated Big Horn Mountains, culminating in Cloud Peak (13,165 feet). Other minor ranges cross south cen tral Wyoming. prominent among them being the Green, Ferns, Seminole, Shirley and Rat tlesnake mountains. These are small separated groups lying a little cast of the Continental Di vide, hut indicating the general course of the Rockies. In this region also are the huge hare granite heaps and domes rising from the sandy plains north of the Sweetwater, known entice thidy as the Granite Mountains. The Continen tal Divide extends from the middle of the southern boundary in a northwesterly direction through Yellowstone National Lofty plateaus characterire all portions of the State and include the Cheyenne Plains and Gotten Hole in the southeast and cast, the I.ara Elk Plains (7.000 (cot) and Red Desert in the south, lower Wind River Valley in the west central and Big Horn Basin in the northern part of the State. These are either level or rolling and lie mainly between 4,500 and 7,000 feet elevation. The eastern plains are grassy, the western and higher plateaus are covered with the characteristic sage brush. Within the mountain ranges arc many small sheltered val leys or parks, the most noteworthy being Jack son's Hole in the northwest. There are several gaps in the Continental Divide of varying ac cessibility. Bridger's Pass (used by the Union Pacific Railroad) in southern, and South Pass in central Wyoming are the most available for railroad construction. North of these lie Union Pass and Two Ocean Pass, which are suitable only for wagons and pack trains. Hot springs are found in the region included in and adjacent to the Yellowstone National Park, at Thermopo lis and elsewhere. The Thermopolis Springs. (135° F.) are of medicinal value and annually attract thousands seeking the cure.