Wyoming Student AtlasExploring our geography
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Table of contents
Acknowledgements .............................................................. Inside Cover Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 Note to teachers ....................................................................................2
Map Reading Skills What’s special about maps? .................................................................3 Types of maps .......................................................................................4 From globe to map ...............................................................................5 Map scale ..............................................................................................6
General Reference Wyoming and the world .......................................................................7 Wyoming geo-facts ...............................................................................8
Physical Geography Wyoming’s tectonic past ......................................................................9 Geology ...............................................................................................10 Physiographic features ........................................................................11 Geothermal features .......................................................................... 12 River basins ........................................................................................ 13 Major streams and water bodies ........................................................ 14 Temperature ....................................................................................... 15 Precipitation ....................................................................................... 16 Climographs ....................................................................................... 17 Tornados and other extreme weather events .................................... 18 Earthquakes and landslides ............................................................... 19 Land cover and ecoregions .................................................................20 Wildlife .............................................................................................. 21 Species richness ..................................................................................22
Human Geography Archaeological sites ............................................................................23 Native American tribes .......................................................................24 Early explorers and fur trappers ........................................................25 Emigrant trails and historic forts .......................................................26 Railroad expansion, stage roads, and cattle trails .............................27 Counties and county seats ..................................................................28 Population change ..............................................................................29 Population centers in and around Wyoming .....................................30 In-migration ....................................................................................... 31 Out-migration .....................................................................................32 Age, gender, and race .........................................................................33 Land ownership ..................................................................................34 Employment .......................................................................................35 Agriculture ..........................................................................................36 Livestock .............................................................................................37 Crops ...................................................................................................38 Oil and gas development ....................................................................39 Coal mining.........................................................................................40 Other mining activity ......................................................................... 41 Wind resources ...................................................................................42 Transportation ....................................................................................43 Parks, monuments, and historic sites ................................................44 Ranches, rodeos and Western-themed museums .............................45 Election patterns ................................................................................46 Population tables .......................................................................... 47-49
References Glossary ........................................................................................ 50-52 Sources ...........................................................................................53-54 Photo credits .......................................................................................55 State symbols ......................................................................................56
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Geography is about the study of place, asking the question “What’s where, and why?” The Wyoming Student Atlas is one way of studying the place we call Wyoming, providing an opportunity to learn about its people and landscapes and how they interact.
An atlas means maps, and this book has a lot of them, as well as some text and many photographs. The maps in the Wyoming Student Atlas are designed to introduce you to the spatial patterns of a wide variety of physical and human things and events in the state to help you understand how they relate to one another.
To help get started in working with maps and geographic information, the Atlas first describes different types of maps and their components, and two important mapping concepts: map projections and map scale.
The maps that follow are organized around major physical and human geography themes, ranging for geology, climate and wildlife to human settlement, economic resources and culture. Additional population data and a glossary of geographic terms are included at the back of the book, along with information on photo and data sources and a bibliography of sources referenced.
Finally, be sure to look closely for the hard-to-catch mythical jackalope who’s found its way on to one of maps. Can you find where it is hidden?
Introduction 1
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1 The National Geography Standards may be accessed from the NCGE at: http://ncge.org/geography-for-life 2 Current Wyoming K-12 education standards may be accessed from the Wyoming Department of Education web site: http://edu.wyoming.gov/programs/standards.aspx
It is our hope that the Wyoming Student Atlas serves as a useful resource to educators for teaching students about Wyoming’s past and present physical and human geography. The maps and supporting information in this publication have been developed with a focus on learners in upper elementary through junior high grades. One guiding set of principles in designing the atlas was the National Geography Standards for grades K through 12 published by the National Center for Geographic Education (NCGE) on behalf of the Geography Education National Implementation Program.1
First published in 1994 and revised in 2012, the National Geography Standards continue to serve as the foundation for geography curriculum design and instructional material development in many of the 50 states, including Wyoming. Included are 18 ‘Standards’ grouped according to six ‘Essential Elements’ (see accompanying table). Grade-level knowledge themes and content, as well as corresponding student performance statements are specified for three grade bands (4th, 8th and 12th).
National Geography Standards Essential Elements
The World in Spatial Terms
Places and Regions
Physical Systems
Human Systems
Environment and Society
The Uses of Geography
Source: Heffron and Downs 2012.
The National Geography Standards’ content encompasses a wide range of human and physical geography topics, corresponding closely to the geography element (‘People, Places and Environment’) of the most recent version of the Wyoming Social Studies Content and Performance Standards.2 The Standards can also be related to components of the latest
(pending) update of the Wyoming Science Content and Performance Standards including content associated with ‘Earth’s Systems’, ‘Earth and Human Activity’ and ‘Ecosystems’.
Above all, the Standards embody the philosophy that “the goal of teaching geography is to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and perspective to do geography” [emphasis added] (National Geography Standards, p. 13). That is, combining geographic information with geographic thinking to support well-reasoned decision making and successful problem solving. We believe the Wyoming Student Atlas supports this goal by combining factual geographic knowledge with visual geographic representations to help students better understand what is happening in our state, why it happens where it does, how it has changed from the past, and how it may change in the future.
We hope you find the Atlas useful in your teaching. More information about potential classroom uses of Wyoming Student Atlas may be found at the Wyoming Geographic Alliance web site (www.uwyo.edu/wga), including digital versions of many of the Atlas maps, additional ancillary data, web resources, and sample lesson plans.
Note to teachers 2
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What’s special about maps? 3
Map elements include a title, legend (also called a map key), labels, symbols, and a scale bar or some other description of scale.
Maps can also include other elements to aid in understanding and interpreting the features or theme of the map. These can include directional arrows, descriptive text, inset maps, location maps, graphs, photos, and lines of latitude and longitude or other coordinates.
Park Boundary
Building
Paved Road
Unpaved Road
Hiking Trail
River
A map uses colors, symbols and labels to describe features within an area, including locations and relationships between surrounding features. Maps can also highlight patterns or trends in an area (such as change in temperature) or between different areas.
A photograph gives a detailed real life perspective of an area or feature of interest, but not its location or relationship to features in the surrounding area.
An aerial photograph is a bird’s eye view that shows the location of a feature in relation to the surrounding area, but it can be difficult to interpret.
Aerial photo of Devils Tower
Map of Devils TowerPhotograph of Devils Tower
Legend
Elements of a map
Location of DevilsTower in Wyoming
Visitor Center
Administration
Building
Entrance Station
Belle
Four
che Ri
ver
Prair
ie Dog
Town
Valley
View
Trail
Belle FourcheCampground
Red Beds Trail
Tower Trail
Joyner Ridge Trail
Red Beds Trail
Devils Tower National Monument
DEVILS TOWER
5,112 ft.
Miles0 0.2 0.4 0.6
0.64 Kilometers0.320 0.96
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60°N
30°N
0°
60°S
30°S
90°E
90°S 90°S
0°
90°E
30°N
60°E120°E 150°E 180°W 0°
60°S
90°W
30°S
30°W60°W120°W 30°E
60°N
150°W
E q u a t o r Pr
ime
M
er
idia
nIn
ter
na
tio
na
l D
at
e
Lin
e (
ap
pr
ox
i ma
t e)
45°N
41°N
104°W111°W
41°N
45°N
111°N 104°N
Utah
Montana
Idaho
Colorado
Wyoming
Nebraska
South Dakota
Wyoming and the world 7
The state of Wyoming is located in the central part the North American continent, bounded between 104 and 111 degrees west longitude and 41 and 45 degrees north latitude.
Wyoming straddles the continental divide and the central Rocky Mountains, with the Great Plains to the east and the Intermountain Basin region to the west. Wyoming shares a border with six surrounding states.
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B i g h o r nM
o u n t ains
G R E A T D I V I D EB A S I N
P O W D E R R I V E RB A S I N
G R E E N R I V E RB A S I N
Wi n d
R i v e rR a n g e
L a r a mi e
R an g e
Wy o m
i n gRange
B I G H O R NB A S I N
G r a n i t e M o u n t a i n s
Cloud Peak13,167 ft
Te tonM
tns
Gannett Peak13,809 ft
Bear LodgeMountains
BlackHills
A b s a r o k a
M t n s
Owl Creek Mtns. BridgerMtns.
SierraMadre
Mountains
W I N DR I V E RB A S I N
YellowstonePlateau
RawlinsUplift
HartvilleUplift
RattlesnakeHills
BeartoothMtns
Washakie Mtns.
ShirleyBasin
Laramie BasinRock Springs
UpliftUinta
Mountains
Green River
North Platte River
Powd
erRiv
er
Lar amie Riv er
Belle
Fourch
e River
Bigho
rnRiv
erWind River
Shoshone River
SnakeRiver
YellowstoneRiver
Sweetwater River
M e d i c i n eBow
Mt ns
G r o s
V e n t r e
R a n g e
Bear River
Francs Peak 13,153 ft
LaramiePeak
10,276 ft
Trout Peak12,249 ft
Grand Teton13,775 ft
Bridger Peak11,009 ft
WyomingPeak
11,378 ft
Doubletop Peak11,719 ft
SaltRange
Devils Tower
Ayers Natural Bridge
Vedauwoo Rocks
Devil's Gate
Hell's Half Acre
Killpecker Dune Field
Sinks CanyonPeriodic Spring
Church Buttes
Medicine Bow Peak12,013 ft
Physiographic features
Titcomb Basin in the Wind River Mountains
The eastern part of Wyoming is dominated by high plains. The middle and western parts of the state have several distinct ranges of the Rocky Mountains, divided by large basins. Even the basins have relatively high elevation, averaging 6,200 feet (2,000 meters). Wyoming's basins include many remarkable natural features such as the Killpecker Sand Dunes, one of the largest active dune systems in North America.
The highest point in Wyoming is Gannett Peak, 13,809 feet (4,209 meters), in the Wind River Mountains. There are more than 40 other named peaks taller than 13,000 feet in the Wind River Mountains.
113,100 4.820 5,900 6,850 7,650 9,660 10,920 13,810
973 1,470 1,798 2,090 2,331 2,945 3,330 4,066
Feet
MetersElevation
The lowest point in the state is where the Belle Fourche River flows out of Wyoming into South Dakota, at 3,099 feet (944 meters).
Belle Fourche River near WY/SD state line
Other natural landmarksHighest peak in each mountain rangeDraft
Temperature 15
Degrees Fahrenheit
6 12º 18º 24º 30º 36º 42º 48º 54º 60º 66º 72º69º63º57º51º45º39º33º27º21º15º9ºº
Elevation and temperatureCoastal environments are moderated by the large bodies of water adjacent to them. Wyoming is several hundred miles from any large body of water and sits on the high plains, and thus experiences wide fluctuations in temperature from season to season and even from day to night. The map below shows average low temperatures in January in the western United States. Notice the difference between the coast and interior mountain region.
Location and climateDistance from the ocean is not the only factor that determines Wyoming’s extreme climate. The state’s average elevation is 6,700 feet above sea level, the second highest in the nation. Because air cools as elevation increases, the state remains far cooler than others at a similar latitude.
July average temperatureMin: 41.3° Max: 74.6° Average: 65.8°
October average temperatureMin: 23.1° Max: 48.8° Average: 42.8°
January average temperatureMin: 7.7° Max: 29.1° Average: 21.4°
April average temperatureMin: 16.8° Max: 47.3° Average: 39.6°
January Lows
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Median agesUnder 35
35–40
Over 40
Age, gender, and race 33
Teton
Niobrara
Campbell
Sweetwater
Natrona
Albany
Platte
Laramie
Hot Springs
Population PyramidsThe graphs below show distribution of age and gender. The X axis corresponds to percentage of the total population while the Y axis represents ages grouped by years.
Wyoming’s race and ethnicity
10 5 0 5 10
Under 9
10 - 19.
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69
70 - 79
Over 80
10 5 0 5 10
Under 9
10 - 19.
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69
70 - 79
Over 80
10 5 0 5 10
Under 9
10 - 19.
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69
70 - 79
Over 80
Natrona, Median age: 36.8 Teton, Median age: 36.8 Laramie, Median age: 37.0
The three counties closest to state median age (36.8)
10 5 0 5 10
Under 9
10 - 19.
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69
70 - 79
Over 80
16.4% 14.1%
10 5 0 5 10
Under 9
10 - 19.
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69
70 - 79
Over 80
10 5 0 5 10
Under 9
10 - 19.
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69
70 - 79
Over 80
The three youngest counties
Albany, Median age: 26.8 Campbell, Median age: 31.9 Sweetwater, Median age: 32.8
10 5 0 5 10
Under 9
10 - 19.
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69
70 - 79
Over 80
10 5 0 5 10
Under 9
10 - 19.
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69
70 - 79
Over 80
10 5 0 5 10
Under 9
10 - 19.
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69
70 - 79
Over 80
The three oldest counties
Platte, Median age: 47.5 Hot Springs, Median age: 48.6 Niobrara, Median age: 46.1
Male Female
White (Non-Hispanic) 85%
Hispanic or Latino9.5%
Two or MoreRaces 1.5%
Asian 1%
American Indian orAlaska Native 2.5%
African American1.5%
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Political partiesDemocratic
Republican
Election patterns 44
1948
Truman [D] * ^Dewey [R]
1964
Johnson [D] * ^Goldwater [R]
1980
Carter [D]Reagan [R] * ^
1996
Clinton [D] *Dole [R] ^
1950
McIntyre [D] Barrett [R] *
1966
Wilkerson [D]Hathaway [R] *
1982
Herschler [D]*Morton [R]
1998
Vinich [D]Geringer [R]*
2010Won election: *
Petersen [D]Mead [R] *
Democrat won state's votesRepublican won state's votes
Electoral College voting history
0
3
Wyoming was the first state to have a female Governor. Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected in 1925 and served two years.
In 1870 Louisa Swain, a resident of Laramie, became the first woman to legally case a vote in a general election.
The Electoral College allocates electoral votes based on the size of each state’s congressional delegation. Since Wyoming has two Senators and one House member, the state casts 3 electoral votes in presidential elections, the smallest number possible. California, the most populous state, casts 55 electoral votes. If Wyoming’s population grew significantly, the state would be granted more representatives in the U.S. House and gain more electoral votes.
Red and blue are used to represent Republicans and Democrats, respectively. The symbol of the elephant and donkey are used to represent each party as well.
Presidential elections
Gubernatorial elections
2012
Obama [D] *Romney [R] ^
Won state: ^Won election: *Draft
Wyoming Student Atlas
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