Wyoming
State
Flag Seal
Nicknames:  Equality State (official); Cowboy State; Big Wyoming[1]
Motto:  Equal Rights
Anthem: "Wyoming"
Map of the United States with Wyoming highlighted
Country	United States
Before statehood	Wyoming Territory
Admitted to the Union	July 10, 1890[2] (44th)
Capital (and largest city)	Cheyenne
Largest county or equivalent	Laramie
Largest metro and urban areas	Cheyenne
Government
• Governor	Mark Gordon (R)
• Secretary of State	Chuck Gray (R)
Legislature	Wyoming Legislature
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Judiciary	Wyoming Supreme Court
U.S. senators	John Barrasso (R) Cynthia Lummis (R)
U.S. House delegation	Harriet Hageman (R) (list)
Area
• Total	97,813[3][4] sq mi (253,335 km2)
• Rank	10th
Dimensions
• Length	371.8 mi (599 km)
• Width	279 mi (451 km)
Elevation	6,700 ft (2,040 m)
Highest elevation (Gannett Peak[5][6][a])	13,809 ft (4,209.1 m)
Lowest elevation (Belle Fourche River at South Dakota border[6][a])	3,101 ft (945 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	576,851
• Rank	50th
• Density	5.97/sq mi (2.31/km2)
• Rank	49th
• Median household income	$62,268[7]
• Income rank	19th
Demonyms	Wyomingite, Wyomingian
Language
• Official language	English
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
USPS abbreviation	WY
ISO 3166 code	US-WY
Traditional abbreviation	Wyo.
Latitude	41°N to 45°N
Longitude	104°3'W to 111°3'W
Website	wyo.gov
Symbols of Wyoming
Bird	Western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
Fish	Cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki)
Flower	Wyoming Indian paintbrush (Castilleja linariifolia)
Grass	Western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii)
Mammal	American bison (Bison bison)
Reptile	Horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglassi brevirostre)
Tree	Plains cottonwood (Populus sargentii)
Dinosaur	Triceratops
Fossil	Knightia
Mineral	Nephrite

Wyoming (/waɪˈoʊmɪŋ/ ^ⓘ wye-OH-ming)^[8] is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It borders 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. With a population of 576,851 in 2020,^[9] Wyoming is the least populous state despite being the 10th largest by area, with the second-lowest population density after Alaska. The state capital and most populous city is Cheyenne, which had a population of 65,132 in 2020.^[10]

Wyoming's western half consists mostly of the ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains; its eastern half consists of high-elevation prairie, and is referred to as the High Plains. Wyoming's climate is semi-arid in some parts and continental in others, making it drier and windier overall than other states, with greater temperature extremes. The federal government owns just under half of Wyoming's land, generally protecting it for public use. The state ranks sixth in the amount of land—and fifth in the proportion of its land—that is owned by the federal government.^[11] Its federal lands include two national parks (Grand Teton and Yellowstone), two national recreation areas, two national monuments, and several national forests, as well as historic sites, fish hatcheries, and wildlife refuges. Indigenous peoples inhabited the region for thousands of years. Historic and currently federally recognized tribes include the Arapaho, Crow, Lakota, and Shoshone. Part of the land that is now Wyoming came under American sovereignty via the Louisiana Purchase, part via the Oregon Treaty, and, lastly, via the Mexican Cession. With the opening of the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the California Trail, vast numbers of pioneers traveled through parts of the state that had once been traversed mainly by fur trappers, and this spurred the establishment of forts, such as Fort Laramie, that today serve as population centers.^[12] The Transcontinental Railroad supplanted the wagon trails in 1867 with a route through southern Wyoming,^[13] bringing new settlers and the establishment of founding towns, including the state capital of Cheyenne.^[14] On March 27, 1890, Wyoming became the union's 44th state.^[1] Farming and ranching, and the attendant range wars, feature prominently in the state's history. Wyoming's economy is largely based on tourism and the extraction of minerals such as coal, natural gas, oil, and trona. Its agricultural commodities include barley, hay, livestock, sugar beets, wheat, and wool. Wyoming does not require the beneficial owners of LLCs to be disclosed in the filing, which creates an opportunity for a tax haven. Wyoming levies no individual or corporate income tax and no tax on retirement income. Wyoming is known for having a political culture that leans towards libertarian conservatism.^[15] The Republican presidential nominee has carried the state in every election since 1968.^[16] It is one of the least religious states in the country.^[17] Wyoming was the first state to allow women the right to vote (not counting New Jersey, which had allowed it until 1807), and the right to assume elected office, as well as the first state to elect a female governor. In honor of this part of its history, its most common nickname is "The Equality State" and its official state motto is "Equal Rights".^[1]

History

Several Native American groups originally inhabited the region today known as Wyoming. The Crow, Arapaho, Lakota, and Shoshone were but a few of the original inhabitants European explorers encountered when they first visited the region. What is now southwestern Wyoming was claimed by the Spanish Empire, which extended through the Southwest and Mexico. With Mexican independence in 1821, it was considered part of Alta California. U.S. expansion brought settlers who fought for control. Mexico ceded these territories after its defeat in 1848 in the Mexican–American War.

From the late 18th century, French-Canadian trappers from Québec and Montréal regularly entered the area for trade with the tribes. French toponyms such as Téton and La Ramie are marks of that history.^[18]

American John Colter first recorded a description in English of the region in 1807. He was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which was guided by French Canadian Toussaint Charbonneau and his young Shoshone wife, Sacagawea. At the time, Colter's reports of the Yellowstone area were considered fictional.^[19] On a return from Astoria, Robert Stuart and a party of five men discovered South Pass in 1812.^[18]

The Oregon Trail later followed that route as emigrants moved to the west coast. In 1850, mountain man Jim Bridger first documented what is now known as Bridger Pass.^[20] Bridger also explored Yellowstone, and filed reports on the region that, like Colter's, were largely regarded at the time as tall tales. The Union Pacific Railroad constructed track through Bridger Pass in 1868.^[20] It was used as the route for construction of Interstate 80 through the mountains 90 years later.^[21]

After the Union Pacific Railroad reached Cheyenne in 1867, population growth was stimulated. The federal government established the Wyoming Territory on July 25, 1868.^[22] Lacking significant deposits of gold and silver, unlike mineral-rich Colorado, Wyoming did not have such a population boom. But South Pass City had a short-lived boom after the Carissa Mine began producing gold in 1867.^[23] Copper was mined in some areas between the Sierra Madre Mountains and the Snowy Range near Grand Encampment.^[24]

Once government-sponsored expeditions to the Yellowstone country began, Colter's and Bridger's descriptions of the region's landscape were confirmed. In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was created as the world's first, to protect this area. Nearly all of the park lies within the northwestern corner of Wyoming.

On December 10, 1869, territorial Governor John Allen Campbell extended the right to vote to women, making Wyoming the first territory to do so, and upon statehood became the first state to grant women's suffrage.^[25] Women first served on juries in Wyoming (Laramie in 1870). Wyoming was also a pioneer in welcoming women into electoral politics.^[26] It 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). In 1924, Wyoming was the first state to elect a female governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross, who took office in January 1925.^[27] Due to its civil-rights history, one of Wyoming's state nicknames is "The Equality State", and the official state motto is "Equal Rights".^[1]

Wyoming's constitution also included a pioneering article on water rights.^[28] Bills for Wyoming Territory's admission to the union were introduced in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives in December 1889. On March 27, 1890, the House passed the bill and President Benjamin Harrison signed Wyoming's statehood bill; Wyoming became the 44th state in the union.^[1]

Wyoming was the location of the Johnson County War of 1892, which erupted between competing groups of cattle ranchers. The passage of the 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.

Etymology

The region had acquired the name Wyoming by 1865 when Representative James Mitchell Ashley of Ohio introduced a bill to Congress to provide a "temporary government for the territory of Wyoming". The territory was named after the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. Thomas Campbell wrote his 1809 poem "Gertrude of Wyoming", inspired by the Battle of Wyoming in the American Revolutionary War. The name ultimately derives from the Lenape Munsee word xwé:wamənk ("at the big river flat").^[29][30]

Geography

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.^[31][32] Much of this is due to the topography of the state. Summers in Wyoming are warm with July high temperatures averaging between 80 and 90 °F (27 and 32 °C) in most of the state. With increasing elevation, however, this average drops rapidly with locations above 9,000 feet (2,700 m) averaging around 70 °F (21 °C). Summer nights throughout the state are characterized by a rapid cooldown with even the hottest locations averaging in the 50–60 °F (10–16 °C) 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 10 inches (250 mm) of rainfall per year. Precipitation depends on elevation with lower areas in the Big Horn Basin averaging 5–8 inches (130–200 mm), making the area nearly a true desert. The lower areas in the North and on the eastern plains typically average around 10–12 inches (250–300 mm), making the climate there semi-arid. Some mountain areas do receive a good amount of precipitation, 20 inches (510 mm) or more, much of it as snow, sometimes 200 inches (510 cm) or more annually. The state's highest recorded temperature is 114 °F (46 °C) at Basin on July 12, 1900, and the lowest recorded temperature is −66 °F (−54 °C) at Riverside on February 9, 1933.

The number of thunderstorm days varies 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.

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.^[35] Wyoming is one of only three states (the others being Colorado and Utah) to have borders defined by only "straight" lines. Due to surveying inaccuracies during the 19th century, Wyoming's legal border deviates from the true latitude and longitude lines by up to one-half mile (0.80 km) in some spots, especially in the mountainous region along the 45th parallel.^[36] 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 97,814 square miles (253,340 km²) and is made up of 23 counties. From the north border to the south border, it is 276 miles (444 km); and from the east to the west border is 365 miles (587 km) at its south end and 342 miles (550 km) 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 13,804 feet (4,207 m), to the Belle Fourche River valley in the state's northeast corner, at 3,125 feet (952 m). 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 13,000 ft (4,000 m) tall in addition to Gannett Peak, the highest peak in the state. The Bighorn Mountains in the north-central portion are somewhat isolated from the bulk of the Rocky Mountains.

The Teton Range in the northwest extends for 50 miles (80 km), 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, Bighorn, and 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. Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Government_of_Wyoming
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