Wyoming
The Rocky Mountain meets the Great Plains in Wyoming creating the wildest Wild West scenery and experience. Filled with so many recreational areas, from national parks, state parks, to straight-out wilderness, each offering their own unique sceneries and adventures, it is impossible not to fall in love with Wyoming.
Know more about Wyoming here.
Geography
Located in the Western region of the states, Wyoming can more specifically be found in the Mountain West subregion. It ranks as the tenth largest state in the country while also being the least populated and least densely populated state in Contiguous United States.
To give you a good picture of what Wyoming looks like, its western half is mostly covered by the ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains. Its eastern counterpart, on the other hand, is composed mainly of high elevation prairie referred to as the High Plains. Basically, in Wyoming, the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains meet and converge into one another. The state can also be seen and understood as one great plateau broken and parted by its mountain ranges.
Several rivers begin in or flow through the state. Namely: the Yellowstone River, Bighorn River, Green River, and the Snake River.
History
Several Native American groups have lived and walked through the Wyoming territory. Some of its original inhabitants are the Crow, Arapaho, Lakota, and Shoshone. The first recorded description of the place was by French explorers in the beginning of the 1800s. This makes Wyoming much later explored compared to other states that were explored as early as the 1600s. This can also explain why Wyoming retained its wilderness reputation.
Another interesting fact about this gorgeous state is the fact that it is one of the first states in the country to extend the right to vote to women. It allowed women to vote as early as 1869, making Wyoming the first territory to grant women suffrage. It continued to pioneer the women’s movement as one of the first states to also allow women to run government positions. This is one of the reasons why Wyoming is sometimes referred to as the ‘equality state’. As far as we know, the state’s motto also remains “Equal Rights”.
In our opinion, this makes this already gorgeous state even more beautiful and fascinating to get to know of.
Weather
Wyoming is known for being drier and windier than any other states in the country. It also has greater temperature extremes. Wyoming has two climates: semi-arid and continental. Of course, Wyoming’s climate varies primarily based on varying elevation. As a general rule of thumb: the higher it is, the cooler it tends to be.
Summers in Wyoming are typically described as warm with July temperatures averaging between 85 and 95 °F (29 and 35 °C) in the larger part of the state. As warm as it can be at daytime though, Wyoming can rapidly cool down by night even in its hottest locations. Also, winters are cold but for some Wyoming locations, due to the direction of Chinook winds, it can also retain unusually warm temperatures even in the middle of winter.
With that said, if you are going to Wyoming in the summer, it is probably best to bring both your warm and cold clothes. You will probably get to experience both on the same day even if you stay at the same exact spot.
Tourism
There are so many iconic and beautiful places to visit in Wyoming. There is, of course, the Yellowstone National Park which if you have not gone to already, you definitely should. It is listed as having one of the best day hikes in the country.
The Grand Teton National Park, Hot Springs State Park, Bridger-Teton National Forest, and Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. This list just names a few of the many, many parks and spots you can visit once there.
Key information about Wyoming
📍 Area: 253,600 km2
👥 Population: 253,600
🏛️ Capital: Cheyenne
🏢 Major cities: Jackson, Casper, Cody, Laramie
🔢 Number of counties: 23
📋 Postal Abbreviation: WY
📖 Primary language/s: English
📌 Nearby states: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Idaho
Adventure Guides In Wyoming
