Wyoming ( ) is a
state
in the
Western United States.
The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and
rangelands of the
Rocky Mountain
West, while the easternmost section of the state includes part
of a high elevation prairie region known as the
High Plains. While the tenth
largest U.S. state by size, Wyoming is the least populous, with a
U.S. Census estimated population of
522,830 in 2007, a 5.9% increase since 2000.
The capital and the most populous city of
Wyoming is Cheyenne
.
Geography and Climate
Location and size
As specified in the designating legislation for the territory of
Wyoming, the state is defined as a
geoellipsoidal rectangle bounded by lines of
latitude and
longitude.
Wyoming is one of only three states (along
with Colorado
and Utah
) to have
only latitudinal and longitudinal, rather than naturally defined,
boundaries. In reality, due to survey errors during the 19th
century, Wyoming's border deviates from the latitude or longitude
lines by up to half of a mile (.8 km) 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.
Mountain ranges
The
Great
Plains
meet the Rocky
Mountains in Wyoming. The state is a great
plateau broken by a number of
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 in both
geology and 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.
Wyoming terrain
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 Wyoming.
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 the waters that flow or precipitate into this
area remain there and cannot flow to any ocean. Instead,
because of the overall aridity of Wyoming, water in the Great
Divide Basin simply sinks into the soil or evaporates.
Several
rivers begin or flow through the state,
including the Yellowstone River,
Bighorn River, Green River, and the Snake
River.
Public lands
Map of Wyoming: National Parks and NPS
sites
More than 48% of the land in Wyoming is owned by the
U.S. Government, which ranks sixth in the US in
total acres and fifth in percentage of a state's land owned by the
Federal government. This amounts to about owned and managed by the
U.S. Government. The state government owns an additional 6% of all
Wyoming lands, or another .
The vast majority of this government land is managed by the
Bureau of Land Management
and
U.S. Forest Service in numerous
National Forests, a
National Grassland, and a number of vast
swaths of public land.
In addition, Wyoming contains a number of specific areas that are
under the management of the
National Park Service and other
agencies. They include:
Parks
Recreation areas
National monuments
National historic trails and sites
National parkways
Wildlife refuges and hatcheries
Climate
Wyoming state welcome sign
Wyoming's
climate is generally a semi-arid continental climate (Koppen climate classification
BSk), which is drier and windier in comparison to most of
the United
States
with temperature extremes. Much of this is
due to the topography of the state. Summers in Wyoming are warm
with July high temperatures averaging between and 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, the late spring and early summer is when most of the
precipitation tends to fall. 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 an arid 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 climate of any area in Wyoming is largely determined by its
latitude, altitude and local topography. When put together, these
factors have a lot to do with airflow patterns, temperature
variations, precipitation and humidity brought in by the weather
systems that migrate eastward.In winter, Wyoming is often beneath
the jet stream, or north of it, which accounts for its frequent
strong winds, blasts of Arctic air and precipitation, all the
necessary ingredients for great snow conditions at Wyoming's
northwestern
ski areas. In summer, the
jet stream retreats northward to Canada, leaving the state's
weather mild and pleasant at a time when the majority of Wyoming's
visitors choose to arrive. Jackson, located at above sea level and
surrounded by mountains, can expect a high temperature in July of .
The average is more likely to be . The closest National Weather
Station (in Riverton on the other side of the Wind River Mountains
at ) reports slightly warmer July weather.
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 which occur a little further
east.
|
Casper
climate: 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
rainfall
inches (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: |
|
Jackson
climate: 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
rainfall
inches (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: |
History
Several
Native
American groups originally inhabited the region now known as
Wyoming. The
Crow,
Arapaho,
Lakota, and
Shoshone were but a few of the original
inhabitants encountered when
white
explorers first entered the region. Although French trappers may
have ventured into the northern sections of the state in the late
1700s,
John Colter, a member of the
Lewis and Clark
Expedition, first described the region in 1807. His reports of
the
Yellowstone area
were considered at the time to be fictional.
Robert Stuart and a party of five
men returning from Astoria
discovered South Pass
in 1812. The
Oregon
Trail later followed that route. In 1850,
Jim Bridger located what is now known as Bridger
Pass, which the
Union Pacific
Railroad used in 1868—as did
Interstate 80, ninety years later.
Bridger also explored Yellowstone and filed reports on the region
that, like those of Colter, were largely regarded as
tall tales at the time.
The region may have acquired the name Wyoming as early as 1865,
when Representative J. M.
Ashley of Ohio
introduced a
bill to Congress to provide a "temporary government for the territory of Wyoming". The name
Wyoming derives from the
Munsee name
xwé:wamənk, meaning "at the big river flat", originally
applied to the
Wyoming Valley in
Pennsylvania, made famous by the 1809 poem
Gertrude of
Wyoming by
Thomas
Campbell.
After the
Union Pacific Railroad
reached the town of Cheyenne in 1867, the region's population began to grow
steadily, and the Federal government established the Wyoming
Territory on July 25, 1868. Unlike Colorado to the south, Wyoming enjoyed no significant
discovery of such celebrated minerals as
gold and silver—nor
Colorado's consequent boom in population—although South Pass
City
experienced a short-lived boom after the Carissa
Mine began producing gold in 1867. Moreover, some areas,
such as between the Sierra
Madre Mountains and the Snowy Range near Grand
Encampment
, produced copper.
Once government sponsored expeditions to the Yellowstone country
were undertaken, the previous reports by men like Colter and
Bridger were found to be true.
This led to the creation of Yellowstone
National Park
, which became the world's first national park in 1872. Nearly all of
Yellowstone National Park lies within the far northwestern borders
of Wyoming.
On December 10, 1869, territorial Gov.
John Allen Campbell signed a suffrage
act into law, which extended the right to vote to women. And in
addition to being the first U.S. state to grant
suffrage to women, Wyoming was also the home of
other firsts for U.S. women in politics.
For the first time,
women served on a jury in Wyoming (Laramie
in 1870). Wyoming had the first female court
bailiff (
Mary Atkinson, Laramie, in
1870) and the first female
justice
of the peace in the country (
Esther Hobart Morris, South Pass City,
in 1870). Wyoming became the first state in the Union to elect a
female governor,
Nellie Tayloe
Ross, who was elected in 1924 and took office in January 1925.
Because of rights given to women, Wyoming earned the nickname of
"The Equality State".
Wyoming's constitution included women's suffrage and a pioneering
article on
water rights. The United
States admitted Wyoming into the Union as the 44th state on July
10, 1890.
Wyoming was the location of the
Johnson County War of 1892, which erupted
between competing groups of
cattle ranchers.
The passage of the federal
Homestead
Act led to an influx of small ranchers. A
range war broke out when either or both of the
groups chose violent conflict over commercial competition in the
use of the public land.
See: List of counties in
Wyoming
Demographics
Wyoming Population Density Map
Population
The
center of population of Wyoming
is located in Natrona County
.
As of 2005, Wyoming had an estimated population of 509,293, which
was an increase of 3,407, or 0.7%, from the prior year and an
increase of 15,512, or 3.1%, since the
2000 census. This includes a
natural increase since the last census of 12,165 people (that is
33,704 births minus 21,539 deaths) and an increase from net
migration of 4,035 people into the state. Immigration from outside
the United States resulted in a net increase of 2,264 people, and
migration within the country produced a net increase of 1,771
people. In 2004, the foreign-born population was 11,000 (2.2%). In
2005, total births in Wyoming numbered 7,231 (Birth Rate of
14.04).
Wyoming
is the least populous (total number of people) state of the United
States, and has the second lowest population density, behind Alaska
.
The largest ancestry groups in Wyoming are:
German (25.9%),
English (15.9%),
Irish (13.3%),
American (6.5%),
Norwegian (4.3%), and
Swedish (3.5%).
Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of Wyoming are shown in
the table below:
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the
Roman Catholic Church with
80,421;
the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as of December 31, 2007
recorded 59,970; and the
Southern Baptist Convention in
1980 counted 17,101.
Economy
According to the 2005 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report,
Wyoming’s
gross state product
was $27.4 billion. Wyoming’s
unemployment rate for 2006 was
approximately 3.3%, which was lower than the national average of
4.6%.Components of Wyoming's economy differ significantly from
those of other states. The mineral extraction industry and the
travel and tourism sector are the main drivers behind Wyoming’s
economy. The Federal government owns about 50% of its landmass,
while 6% is controlled by the state. Total taxable values of mining
production in Wyoming for 2001 was over $6.7 billion. The
tourism industry accounts for over $2 billion in
revenue for the state. Wyoming was the first state in the United
States to adopt a statute permitting the formation of limited
liability companies as a business form in 1977.
In 2002, more than six million people visited Wyoming’s
national parks and monuments.
The key tourist
attractions in Wyoming include Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Devils Tower National
Monument
and Fossil Butte National
Monument
. Each year Yellowstone National Park
receives three million visitors.
Historically, agriculture has been an important component of
Wyoming’s economy. Its overall importance to the performance of
Wyoming’s economy has waned. However, agriculture is still an
essential part of Wyoming’s culture and lifestyle. The main
agricultural commodities produced in Wyoming include livestock
(beef),
hay,
sugar
beets,
grain (wheat and barley), and
wool. More than 91% of land in Wyoming is
classified as
rural.
Mineral production
Wyoming’s mineral commodities include
coal,
natural gas,
coalbed methane,
crude
oil,
uranium, and
trona.
- Coal: Wyoming produced 395.5 million short tons (358.8 million
metric tons) of coal in 2004. The state is the number one producer
of coal in the U.S. Wyoming possesses a reserve of 68.7 billion
tons (62.3 billion metric tons) of coal. Major coal areas
include the Powder
River Basin
and the Green River
Basin
- Natural gas: Wyoming produced 2,254 trillion cubic feet of
natural gas in 2007. The state ranked 2nd nationwide for natural
gas production in 2007. The major markets for natural gas include
industrial, commercial, and domestic heating.
- Coal Bed Methane (CBM): The boom for CBM began in the
mid-1990s. CBM is characterized as methane gas that is extracted
from Wyoming’s coal bed seams. It is another means of natural gas
production. There has been substantial CBM production in
the Powder River
Basin. In 2002, the CBM production yield was 327.5
billion cubic feet (9.3 km³).
- Crude oil: Wyoming produced 53.4 million barrels of crude oil
in 2007. The state ranked 5th nationwide in oil production in 2007.
Petroleum is most often used as a motor fuel, but it is also
utilized in the manufacture of plastics, paints, and synthetic
rubber.
- Trona: Wyoming possesses the largest known reserve of trona in the world Trona is used for manufacturing
glass, paper, soaps, baking soda, water softeners, and
pharmaceuticals. In 2008 Wyoming produced 46 million short tons
(41.7 million metric tons) of trona, 25% of the world's
production.
- Uranium: Although uranium
mining in Wyoming is much less active than it was in previous
decades, recent increases in the price of uranium have generated new interest in uranium
prospecting and mining.
Taxes
Unlike most other states, Wyoming does not levy an individual or
corporate
income tax. In addition,
Wyoming does not assess any tax on retirement income earned and
received from another state. Wyoming has a state
sales tax of 4%. Counties have the option of
collecting an additional 1% tax for general revenue and a 2% tax
for specific purposes, if approved by voters. Food for human
consumption is not subject to sales tax. There also is a county
lodging tax that varies from 2% to 5%. The state collects a
use tax of 5% on items purchased elsewhere
and brought into Wyoming.All
property
tax is based on the assessed value of the property and
Wyoming's Department of Revenue's Ad Valorem Tax Division supports,
trains, and guides local government agencies in the uniform
assessment, valuation and taxation of locally assessed property.
"Assessed value" means taxable value; "taxable value" means a
percent of the fair market value of property in a particular class.
Statutes limit property tax increases. For county revenue, the
property tax rate cannot exceed 12
mill (or 1.2%) of assessed value. For cities
and towns, the rate is limited to 8
mill (0.8%). With very few exceptions, state
law limits the property tax rate for all governmental
purposes.
Personal property held for
personal use is tax-exempt. Inventory if held for resale, pollution
control equipment, cash, accounts receivable, stocks and bonds are
also exempt. Other exemptions include property used for religious,
educational, charitable, fraternal, benevolent and government
purposes and improvements for handicapped access. Minerals are
exempt from property tax but companies must pay a gross products
tax and a
severance tax when produced.
Underground mining equipment is tax exempt.
Wyoming does not collect
inheritance
taxes. Because of the phase-out of the federal estate tax
credit, Wyoming's
estate tax is not
imposed on estates of persons who died in 2005. There is limited
estate tax related to federal estate tax collection.
In 2008 the
Tax Foundation ranked
Wyoming as having the single most "business friendly" tax climate
of all 50 states. Wyoming state and local governments in fiscal
year 2007 collected $2.242 billion in taxes, levies, and royalties
from the oil and gas industry. The state's mineral industry,
including oil, gas,
trona, and coal provided
$1.3 billion in property taxes from 2006 mineral production.
Transportation
The
largest airport in Wyoming is Jackson Hole Airport
.Three interstate highways and nine U.S. highways
pass through Wyoming. In addition, the state is served by
the
Wyoming state highway
system.
Interstate 25 enters the
state south of Cheyenne and runs north, intersecting Interstate 80
in Cheyenne.
It passes through Casper
and ends at
Interstate 90 near Buffalo
. Interstate 80 crosses the Utah
border west of Evanston
and runs east through the southern half of the
state, passing through Cheyenne before entering Nebraska near
Pine
Bluffs
. Interstate 90 comes into Wyoming
near Parkman
and cuts through the northern part of the
state. It serves Gillette
and enters South Dakota east of Sundance
. In addition,
Interstate 180 services Cheyenne,
and not only is it the only three-digit interstate highway in the
state, it is the only non-freeway in the country that is signed as
an interstate.
The
U.S. highways
that pass through the state are U.S. Highways
14,
16,
18,
20,
26,
30,
85,
87,
89,
189,
191,
212, and
287.
See also: List of Wyoming
railroads, List of
airports in Wyoming, and State highways in
Wyoming.
Wind River Indian Reservation
The Wind
River Indian Reservation is
shared by the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes of Amerindians in the
central western portion of the state near Lander
. It
is the seventh-largest Indian reservation in the United States,
with a land area of , encompassing most of Fremont County. The
reservation is home to 2,500 Eastern Shoshone and 5,000 Northern
Arapaho.
Chief Washakie established the reservation in
1868 as the result of negotiations with the federal government in
the Fort
Bridger
Treaty. However, the Northern Arapaho were
forced onto the Shoshone reservation in 1876 by the federal
government after the government failed to provide a promised
separate reservation.
Today the Wind River Indian Reservation is jointly owned, with each
tribe having a 50% interest in the land, water, and other natural
resources. The reservation is a sovereign, self-governed land with
two independent governing bodies: the Eastern Shoshone Tribal
Government and the Northern Arapaho Tribal Government. The Eastern
Shoshone Business Council meets jointly with the Northern Arapaho
Business Council as the Joint Business Council to decide matters
that affect both tribes. Six elected council members from each
tribe serve on the joint council.
State law and government
Wyoming's Constitution established three branches of government:
the executive,
legislative, and
judicial branches.
The Wyoming
state
legislature comprises a
House of Representatives
with 60 members and a
Senate with 30
members.
The executive branch is headed by the
governor and includes a secretary of
state, auditor, treasurer and superintendent of public instruction.
Wyoming does not have a
lieutenant governor.
Instead the secretary of state stands first in the line of
succession.
Wyoming's sparse population warrants it only a single
at-large seat in the
U.S. House of
Representatives, and hence only three votes in the
Electoral College. Its low
population renders Wyoming voters effectively more powerful in
presidential elections than those in more populous states. For
example, while Montana had a 2000 census population of 902,195 to
Wyoming's 493,782, they both have the same number of electoral
votes.
Wyoming is an
alcoholic
beverage control state.
Judicial system
Wyoming's highest court is the
Supreme Court of Wyoming, with five
justices presiding over appeals from the state's lower courts.
Wyoming is unusual in that it does not have an intermediate
appellate court, like most states.
This is largely attributable to the state's size and
correspondingly lower caseload. Appeals from the state district
courts go directly to the Wyoming Supreme Court. Wyoming also has
state circuit courts (formerly county courts), of limited
jurisdiction, which handle certain types of cases, such as civil
claims with lower dollar amounts, misdemeanor criminal offenses,
and
felony arraignments. Circuit court judges also commonly
hear small claims cases as well. All state court judges in Wyoming
are nominated by the Judicial Nominating Commission and appointed
by the Governor. They are then subject to a
retention vote by the electorate.
Politics
Wyoming has historically been a conservative,
Republican state. Its
congressional delegation in Washington comprises its two Senators,
Mike Enzi and
John Barrasso, and its one member of the House
of Representatives, Congresswoman
Cynthia
Lummis. All three are Republicans. The state has not voted for
a
Democrat for
president since 1964, one of only five times since statehood.
There are
only two reliably Democratic counties in the state: Teton
and Albany County
. In the 2004 presidential election,
George W. Bush won his second-largest victory, with 69%
of the vote. Former
Vice President Dick Cheney is a Wyoming resident and
represented the state in Congress from 1979 to 1989. However, after
his term, he resided primarily in Texas, a fact that drew mild
criticism from his political opponents when he changed his voter
registration back to Wyoming prior to joining
George W. Bush's ticket in the
2000 Presidential election in
order to comply with the
Twelfth
Amendment's prohibition against both Presidential and
Vice-Presidential candidates residing in the same state.
Republicans are no less dominant at the state level. They have held
a majority in the state senate continuously since 1936 and in the
state house since 1964. However, Democrats have held the
governorship for all but eight years
since 1975. Democrat
Dave
Freudenthal was elected in 2002 and has one of the highest
approval ratings of any governor in the USA. Uniquely, Wyoming
elected Democrat
Nellie Tayloe
Ross as the first woman in US history to serve as state
governor. She served from 1925 to 1927 after winning a special
election after her husband, governor at the time, unexpectedly
died.
Counties
The State of Wyoming has 23
counties.
| Wyoming Counties Ranked By 2005 Population |
| Rank |
County |
Population |
Rank |
County |
Population |
| 1 |
Laramie County |
85,163 |
13 |
Converse County |
12,766 |
| 2 |
Natrona County |
69,799 |
14 |
Goshen County |
12,243 |
| 3 |
Sweetwater County |
37,975 |
15 |
Big Horn County |
11,333 |
| 4 |
Campbell County |
37,405 |
16 |
Platte County |
8,619 |
| 5 |
Fremont County |
36,491 |
17 |
Washakie County |
7,933 |
| 6 |
Albany County |
30,890 |
18 |
Johnson County |
7,721 |
| 7 |
Sheridan County |
27,389 |
19 |
Sublette County |
6,926 |
| 8 |
Park County |
26,664 |
20 |
Weston County |
6,671 |
| 9 |
Uinta County |
19,939 |
21 |
Crook County |
6,182 |
| 10 |
Teton County |
19,032 |
22 |
Hot Springs County |
4,537 |
| 11 |
Lincoln County |
15,999 |
23 |
Niobrara County |
2,286 |
| 12 |
Carbon County |
15,331 |
Wyoming Total |
509,294 |
|
Map of Wyoming showing the 23
counties.
In 2005, 52.4% of Wyomingites lived in one of the five most
populous Wyoming counties.
Wyoming license plates contain a number on the left that indicates
the county in which the vehicle is registered. The county license
plate numbers are as follows:
Number on
License Plate
|
County |
Number on
License Plate
|
County |
Number on
License Plate
|
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 98
incorporated
municipalities.
The 20 Most Populous Wyoming Cities and
Towns
| Rank |
City |
County |
Population |
| 1 |
City of Cheyenne |
Laramie County |
55,731 |
| 2 |
City of Casper |
Natrona County |
51,738 |
| 3 |
City of Laramie |
Albany County |
26,050 |
| 4 |
City of Gillette |
Campbell County |
22,685 |
| 5 |
City of Rock Springs |
Sweetwater County |
18,772 |
| 6 |
City of Sheridan |
Sheridan County |
16,333 |
| 7 |
City of Green River |
Sweetwater County |
11,787 |
| 8 |
City of Evanston |
Uinta County |
11,459 |
| 9 |
City of Riverton |
Fremont County |
9,430 |
| 10 |
City of Cody |
Park County |
9,100 |
| 11 |
Town of Jackson |
Teton County |
9,038 |
| 12 |
City of Rawlins |
Carbon County |
8,658 |
| 13 |
City of Lander |
Fremont County |
6,898 |
| 14 |
City of Douglas |
Converse County |
5,581 |
| 15 |
City of Torrington |
Goshen County |
5,533 |
| 16 |
City of Powell |
Park County |
5,288 |
| 17 |
City of Worland |
Washakie County |
4,967 |
| 18 |
City of Buffalo |
Johnson County |
4,290 |
| 19 |
Town of Wheatland |
Platte County |
3,464 |
| 20 |
City of Newcastle |
Weston County |
3,221 |
|
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 and seven
Micropolitan Statistical
Areas for the State of Wyoming.
U.S. Census Bureau Metropolitan
and Micropolitan Statistical Areas of Wyoming
| Census Area |
County |
Population |
| Cheyenne, WY, Metropolitan Statistical Area |
Laramie County, Wyoming |
85,163 |
| Casper, WY, Metropolitan Statistical Area |
Natrona County, Wyoming |
69,799 |
| Rock Springs, WY, Micropolitan Statistical Area |
Sweetwater County, Wyoming |
37,975 |
| Gillette, WY, Micropolitan Statistical Area |
Campbell County, Wyoming |
37,405 |
| Riverton, WY, Micropolitan Statistical Area |
Fremont County, Wyoming |
36,491 |
| Laramie, WY, Micropolitan Statistical Area |
Albany County, Wyoming |
30,890 |
| Sheridan, WY, Micropolitan Statistical Area |
Sheridan County, Wyoming |
27,389 |
| Jackson, WY-ID, Micropolitan Statistical Area |
Teton County, Wyoming |
19,032 |
Teton County, Idaho |
7,467 |
| Total |
26,499 |
| Evanston, WY, Micropolitan Statistical Area |
Uinta County, Wyoming |
19,939 |
|
In 2005, 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.
Education
Public education is directed by the
state superintendent of public instruction, an elected state
official. Educational policies are set by the State Board of
Education, a nine-member board appointed by the governor. The
constitution prohibits the state from establishing curriculum and
text book selections; these are the prerogatives of local school
boards. The
Wyoming School
for the Deaf was the only in-state school dedicated to
supporting
deaf students in Wyoming, but it
closed in summer of 2000.
Higher education
Wyoming
has one public four-year institution, the University
of Wyoming
in Laramie. In addition, there are seven two-year
community colleges spread through
the state.
Before the passing of a new law in 2006, Wyoming had hosted
unaccredited institutions, many of them suspected
diploma mills. The 2006 law is forcing
unaccredited institutions to make one of three choices: move out of
Wyoming, close down, or apply for accreditation. The
Oregon State Office
of Degree Authorization predicts that in a few years the
problem of diploma mills in Wyoming might be resolved.
Sports
- Casper Ghosts, minor league baseball
- Wyoming Cavalry, American Indoor Football
Association
- University of Wyoming, football, basketball, swimming, diving,
soccer, golf, wrestling, tennis, volleyball, track and
field
Miscellaneous information
State flower of Wyoming: Indian
Paintbrush
Wyoming was chosen as the official state for the
Free State Wyoming project; a splinter of
the
Free State Project. The
purpose of the project is to relocate Libertarians to a single
state, making it possible to live a "free life".
In 2008,
The American State Litter Scorecard rated Wyoming a nationally Best
state for statewide litter eradication from public properties,
having the highest total objective and subjective ranking scores
for the Western United States,
followed by Oregon
.
Rooster Teeth's web series
Red Vs Blue created a freelancer character
bearing the state name.
State symbols
.
- State bird: Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
- State coin: Sacagawea
dollar
- State dinosaur: Triceratops
- State emblem: Bucking Horse
and Rider
- State fish: Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarki)
- State flag: Flag of the State of
Wyoming
- State flower: Wyoming Indian paintbrush
(Castilleja
linariifolia)
- State fossil: Knightia
- State
gemstone: Nephrite
- State grass: Western Wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii)
- State mammal: American Bison (Bison bison)
- State motto:
Equal Rights
- State nicknames: Equality
State
; Cowboy
State
; Big Wonderful Wyoming
- State reptile: Horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglassi
brevirostre)
- State seal: Great Seal of the State of
Wyoming
- State soil: Forkwood (unofficial)
- State song:
Wyoming by Charles E. Winter
& George E. Knapp
- State sport: Rodeo
- State tree: Plains Cottonwood (Populus sargentii)
Notable Wyomingites
See also
References
-
http://www.maineenvironment.org/documents/publiclandownership.pdf
Public Land Ownership by State, 1995 Main Environment.org
-
http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/wyoming/casper.htm
-
http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/wyoming/jackson.htm
- Bright, William (2004). Native American Place Names of the
United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, pg.
576
- State of Wyoming - Narrative
- State of Wyoming - General Facts About Wyoming
- WYOMING STATE PARKS, HISTORIC SITES & TRAILS
- Mines Publication, 1911. Original from the University of
Michigan.
- "General Facts about Wyoming", wyoming.gov, Retrieved
on July 2, 2008.
-
http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/state/56_2000.asp
- Votes back repeal of food tax,
Billings
Gazette, March 3, 2006
- The Tax Foundation – Tax Research Areas –
Wyoming
- Background of Wind River Reservation
- PBS. Independent Lens
- Alleged "diploma mills" flocking to Wyoming, by
Mead Gruver, Seattle Times, February 9, 2005
- Unaccredited Colleges, Potential problems with
degree suppliers located in these states - Wyoming,
Oregon State
Office of Degree Authorization
- World Almanac & Book of Facts, Reader's Digest Publishing,
2008
External links
Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial
Parkway
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