Facts About Wyoming

Wyoming ranks ninth in size among the states of the Union, covering 253,347 sq km (97,818 sq mi), including 1,849 sq km (714 sq mi) of inland water. The state has a maximum extent from east to west of 586 km (364 mi) and from north to south of 444 km (276 mi). About one-third of the state is mountainous. Elevations range from 945 m (3,099 ft) along the Belle Fourche River in the northeastern corner of the state to 4,207 m (13,804 ft) atop Gannett Peak in the Wind River Range, part of the Rocky Mountains. The mean elevation is 2,040 m (6,700 ft). The federal government owns 50 percent of the land, much of it in national parks, forests, or preserves.

Wyoming contains parts of four major natural regions, or physiographic provinces, of the United States: the Southern Rocky Mountains, the Wyoming Basins, the Middle Rocky Mountains, and the Great Plains.

Wyoming has a continental climate, characterized by moderately warm summers at low elevations, long and cold winters, and generally low amounts of precipitation. Average July temperatures range from about 17° C (about 63° F) in Yellowstone National Park, in the mountainous northwest, to 20° C (68° F) in Cheyenne, in the southeast. January averages are -7° C (19° F) in the national park and -3° C (27° F) in Cheyenne.

• Yellowstone National Park : It was the world's first national park; it is the largest national park in the lower 48; it is, with surrounding wildlands, the center of the last truly intact temperate ecosystem.
• Cheyenne: By horse or by highway, you can't miss Cheyenne, not only the largest city in Wyoming (population 55,000) but also its capital. Visitors enjoy the many historic and political sights, from the Capitol Building to the Historic Governors' Mansion. But Cheyenne's biggest event, hands down, is that wild and woolly weeklong cowboy extravaganza, Cheyenne Frontier Days.

	Web http://www.hqtravel.com