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I ~ I I I I I I ~~;r-.., II [) '.I ."J '.)' ~ III U Z Cl ... " Cl I- Cl Basin area within Wyoming: 17.104 miles (16 percent of state) Percentage of upper Colorado R,iver basin land arCH within stelle: 16 percent (109,580 square miles) $tale,'s mean elevl1tion: 6,100 feet (secbnd highest U.S.) Highest point iri state: Gannett Peak at 13.804 reet l\diriitted to union: July 10, 1890, 44th stat.- State nk kname; Equality State' Wyoinillg ~~ts: National park - 1872 (Y e!lowstone) National forest - 1891 (Shoshone) N&lional'monument - 1006 '(Devils tower) Rarlger $tation - Wapiti First ,'/.()men to vot~ First; W<Hnen to servt on juri~.$ First women to hold public- office, including goVt~mor I J I The state of Wyoming with a total land area of 97,914 square miles is home to 19,347 miles of streams. 427,219 acres of lakes and reservoirs, and an estimated 940,000 acres of wetlands. The Continental Divide subdivides the state into four major drainage basins, including the Missouri, Columbia, Colorado and the Great Salt Lake basin. This geo- graphic feature makes Wyoming the headwaters of the West. The headwa- ters of the Green River, a major tributary of the Colorado River, arise in the glaciers and snowpack of the Wind River Mountains. As a headwaters state, Wyoming does not depend on water inflow from the other states. More than 90 percent of the water flowing through Wyoming originates with- in the state. Less than 10 percent of Wyoming receives more water as precipitation than is lost back to the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration. In the Wind River Mountain Range which gives rise to the Green River, precipitation aver- ages between 40 and 60 inches per year. The largest concentration of glaciers in the American Rocky Mountains, cover- ing more than 17 miles, occurs in the Wind River Range. Lower elevation portions of the basin receive 7~9 inches per year. By comparison, annual precipitation across the entire state averages 14.5 inches. The mean annual water balance (precipitation minus evapotranspiration) for the Green River Basin has a negative value. However, runoff, of which about 70 percent is derived from snowmelt, occurs during a period (spring/early summer) when the basin has a posi- tive water balance. Therefore, reservoir stor- age plays an important role for the Green River water supply during non- runoff months. The total reservoir storage capacity within Wyoming's portion of the Green River Basin is in excess of 4,400,000 acre-feet, including Flaming Gorge Reservoir which impounds up to 3,780,000 acre.feet in hoth Utah and Wyoming. The state of Wyoming has contractually purchased 125,000 acre-feet of Fontenelle Dam storage from the federal govern- ment, ensuring the avail- ability of water for Wyoming's agricultural, commercial, industrial, municipal and recreational needs both for the present and the future. Wyoming's economic well-being revolves around three industries - the extraction of minerals, tourism and recreation, plus agriculture, which is the largest user of water in the state (about 80 per- cent of total). Approxi- mately 278,000 acres are irrigated in the basin. Alfalfa, native grasses and small grains are the pre- dominate crops due to the short growing season and high elevation of the irri- gated lands. The sparse rainfall makes most of the basin agriculturally suit. able only for grazing and livestock, unless irrigated. Wyoming's mineral and energy industries are of tremendous importance to southwestern Wyoming. Sweetwater County is the most industrialized county in Wyoming. More than half of the county's work. force is employed by industry, principally min- ing, petroleum, power generation and related services. The basin's coal mines produce more than 10 million tons annually. The only naturally occur- ring trona (soda ash) deposits in the United States are found in Sweetwater County. The five plants mining Wyoming trona produce about 90 percent of the nation's soda ash. Soda ash, chemically known as ~ o I: - z C)