Wyoming

Wyoming elk

Wyoming has the world's single largest elk herd.  It has more pronghorn than any other state.

Wyoming pronghorn

Wyoming is ranked 50th in population among US states with an estimated population in 2015 of fewer than 600,000, and it's ranked 49th (after Alaska) in population density.  The majority of residents live in towns of 2500+.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition didn't get to Wyoming but on the way back east one of their men, Capt. John Colter, spent a lot of time there and was the first to report on jets of steam bursting from the earth.  The only one to believe these reports was William Clark, who mapped them from Colter's description.

Yellowstone geyser

Yellowstone has more geysers than anywhere else in the world.

The Oregon Trail, California Trail, and Mormon Trail all crossed Wyoming through the South Pass in the Rockies.  Both settlers and gold prospectors found Wyoming inhospitable and didn't think of staying until gold was discovered in 1864 and, about that time, coal mines were established.  Wyoming had been part of the Dakota Territory, but when the boomtowns got so huge, Dakotans feared they'd dominate the territorial government and convinced Congress to create a separate territory.

In 1869, Wyoming was the first in the US to give women the right to vote and hold office - although not particularly altruistic as few women lived in Wyoming and the men hoped these measures would encourage more to move there.  This almost backfired, though, because when Wyoming applied for statehood in 1889, Congress was reluctant to allow them their provision for women's suffrage on the grounds that it set a bad example.  Despite this drawback, Wyoming achieved statehood in 1890.

In 1906, Pres. T. Roosevelt established Devils Tower as the first national monument; it was formed when an extinct volcano eroded, leaving an 867' tower of lava.  This feature was in the final scene of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."

Devils Tower

Wyoming's governor is elected to a 4-year term and may serve no more than 2 terms within a 16-year period.  The state has no lieutenant governor.  Its legislature meets in odd-numbered years for general sessions and in even-numbered years for budget sessions.

Thermopolis hot springs

Wyoming is the #1 producer in the US of coal and bentonite and #1 in the world in trona production (used to make glass, soap, paper).  It is #2 in the US in wool production.

Thermopolis has the world's largest hot springs.

The federal government is Wyoming's largest employer.

Register Cliff State Historic Site protects ruts left by the wagon wheels of migrating settlers.

Yellowstone Lake is Wyoming's largest natural lake and is the highest in the US.

Yellowstone Lake

Wyoming has one of the highest literacy rates in the US, and almost half of all adults are college graduates.

In 1910, Pres. Taft set aside several oil fields in reserve for US military use.  In 1921, Pres. Harding issued an executive order that secretly transferred one of them - Teapot Dome - to the Dept. of Interior, where his friend Albert Fall was the Secretary.  Fall secretly leased this oil field to his friend Harry Sinclair (Sinclair Oil Co.).  Teapot Dome was the biggest gusher in Wyoming history and eventually the secret deals came to light.  Fall was convicted of bribery and got a 1-year sentence, Sinclair got a 6-month sentence, and Harding died before the scandal broke.

Wyoming has an official state dinosaur (triceratops) and an official state sport (rodeo).