The Wind River is the name applied to the upper reaches of the Bighorn River in Wyoming in the United States. The Wind River is 185 miles (298 km)[3] long. The two rivers are sometimes referred to as the Wind/Bighorn.
| Wind River Wild River, Bighorn River | |
|---|---|
 Wind River Canyon downstream from Boysen Dam | |
 The Wind-Bighorn rivers | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Wyoming |
| Cities | Dubois, Crowheart, Johnstown, Riverton |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Two Ocean Mountain |
| • location | Wind River Range, Teton County |
| • coordinates | 43°44′50″N 110°04′27″W / 43.74722°N 110.07417°W[1] |
| • elevation | 9,760 ft (2,970 m) |
| Mouth | Bighorn River |
• location | Wedding of the Waters, Hot Springs County |
• coordinates | 43°34′52″N 108°12′44″W / 43.58111°N 108.21222°W[1] |
• elevation | 4,472 ft (1,363 m) |
| Length | 185 mi (298 km) |
| Basin size | 7,730 sq mi (20,000 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | below Boysen Dam[2] |
| • average | 1,357 cu ft/s (38.4 m3/s)[2] |
| • minimum | 4.7 cu ft/s (0.13 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 28,700 cu ft/s (810 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | East Fork Wind River |
| • right | Dinwoody Creek, Bull Lake Creek, Little Wind River |
Course
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Its headwaters are at Wind River Lake in the Rocky Mountains, near the summit of Togwotee Pass (pronounced TOH-guh-tee) and gathers water from several forks along the northeast side of the Wind River Range in west central Wyoming. It flows southeastward, across the Wind River Basin and the Wind River Indian Reservation and joins the Little Wind River near Riverton. Up stream from this confluence, it is known locally as the Big Wind River. It flows northward, through a gap in the Owl Creek Mountains, where the name of the river becomes the Bighorn River. In the Owl Creek Mountains, it is dammed to form Boysen Reservoir. The Wind River officially becomes the Bighorn River at the Wedding of the Waters, on the north side of the Wind River Canyon.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Wind River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 1979-06-05. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
- ^ a b "USGS Gage #06259000 on the Wind River below Boysen Reservoir, WY" (PDF). National Water Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
- ^ "The National Map". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved February 17, 2011.