part of the N.W. forests. White fir is found above the foothill zone, and heavy growths of cottonwood along the streams in the Bighorn region. The Douglas spruce and Rocky Mountain white pine are common in the forests of the Medicine Bow Mountains, from which much of the native lumber used in the S. of the state is secured. Other trees are the juniper, willow, green ash, box elder scrub oak, wild plum and wild cherry. Occasional cottonwoods along streams are the only trees on the plains. The common sage brush, artemisia, is the characteristic shrub of the plains where the soil is comparatively free from alkali, and is abundant in the valleys of the arid foot hills. Where alkali is present, the plains may be nearly barren, or covered with grease wood and species of atriplex, including the so-called white sage. Grease wood is likewise abundant in the foothills wherever the soil contains alkali. Various species of nutritious grasses cover much of the plains and foothills, and even clothe the apparently barren mountain peaks.
Climate.—In the lower Bighorn Valley, summer temperatures rise to 95° or 100°, but at heights of 6000 to 7000 ft. on neighbouring ranges, summer temperatures seldom rise above 90°, and frosts may occur at any time. Elevations under 6000 ft. have a mean annual temperature of from 40° to 47°, but high mountain areas and cold valleys may have mean temperatures as low as 34°. The air is clear and dry, and although temperatures of 100° are recorded, sun strokes are practically unknown. Winter temperatures as low as -51° have been recorded, but these very low temperatures occur in the valleys rather than on the higher elevations. The cold is sharp and bracing rather than disagreeable, on account of the dryness of the air; and the periods of cold weather are generally of short duration. The winter climate is remarkably pleasant as a rule, and outdoor work may usually be carried on without discomfort.
The following figures give some idea of the climatic variations. At Basin, in the Bighorn Valley, the mean winter temperature is 16°, the summer mean 72°. Thayne, on the mountainous W. border of the state, has a winter mean of 19°, and a summer mean of but 59°; Cheyenne in the S.E., has a winter mean of 27°, and a summer mean of 65°. The percentage of sunshine in the state is high. Precipitation varies in different areas from 8 to 20 in., the average for the state being 12.5 in. Wyoming thus belongs with the arid states, and irrigation is necessary for agriculture. A greater precipitation doubtless prevails on the higher mountains, but trustworthy records are not available. Spring is the wettest season. The prevailing winds are W. and reach a high velocity on the level plains.
Soil.—While some of the more arid districts have soils so strongly alkaline as to be practically unreclaimable, there are extensive areas of fertile lands which only require irrigation to make them highly productive. Alluvial deposits brought down by mountain streams, and strips of floodplain along larger streams on the plains are very fertile and well repay irrigation. Lack of water rather than poverty of soil renders most of the plains region fit for grazing only. In the mountains, ruggedness combines with thin and scattered soil to make these districts of small agricultural value.
Agriculture.—The total area in farms in 1880 was 124,433 acres, of which 83,122 acres (66.8%) were improved; in 1900 it was 8,124,536 acres, of which 792,332 acres (9.8%) were improved. The large increase in unimproved acreage in farms was principally due to the increased importance in sheep-raising. In 1909 Wyoming ranked first among the states in the number of sheep and the production of wool. The number of sheep in 1909 was 7,316,000, valued at $32,190,000, being more than one-eighth in numbers and nearly one seventh in value of all sheep in the United States. The production of wool in 1909 was 38,400,000 lb of washed and unwashed wool and 12,288,000 lb of scoured wool. The average weight per fleece was 8 lb. The Bureau of Animal Industry of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made experiments in breeding range sheep in Wyoming. The total number of neat cattle on farms and ranges in 1910 was 986,000 (including 27,000 milch cows) valued at $26,277,000; horses, 148,000, valued at $12,284,000;[1] mules, 2000, valued at $212,000; and swine, 21,000, valued at $178,000.
In 1909 the hay crop (alfalfa, native hay, timothy hay, &c.) was 665,000 tons, valued at $5,918,000 and raised on 277,000 acres. The cereal crops increased enormously in the decade 1899-1909. The principal cereal crop in 1909 was oats, the product of which was 3,500,000 bushels, grown on 100,000 acres and valued at $1,750,000. The wheat crop increased from 4674 bushels in 1879 to 2,297,000 bushels in 1909, grown on 80,000 acres and valued at $2,274,000. The product of Indian corn in 1909 was 140,000 bushels, grown on 5000 acres and valued at $109,000.
Mining.—The development of Wyoming's naturally rich mineral resources has been retarded by inadequate transport and by insufficient capital. The value of the slate's mineral product was $5,684,286 in 1902 and $9,453,341 in 1908. In 1908 Wyoming ranked twelfth among the states of the Union in the value of its output of bituminous coal. Other mineral products of the state are copper, gold, iron, petroleum, asbestos, soda, silver and lead, gypsum, stone and clay products. The original coal supply of the present state has been estimated (by the United States Geological Survey) at 424,085,000,000 short tons of the bituminous or sub-bituminous variety, this amount being second only to that for North Dakota, 500,000,000,000 short tons, which, however, is entirely lignite. Coal was first mined in what is now Wyoming in 1865, probably in connexion with the building of the Union Pacific railway, and the product in that year was 800 short tons. Thereafter the industry developed steadily and the product in 1908 was 5,489,902 tons, valued at $8,868,157. In 1908 (and for several years before) the largest product of coal (2,180,933 tons) came from Sweetwater county, in the S.W. of the state, and Uinta county (adjoining Sweetwater county on the W.) had the next largest product, 1,380,488 tons. Sheridan county, in the north-central part of the state, Carbon county in the south-central part and Weston county in the N.E. were the next largest producers. The product of coal to the end of 1908 was 125,000,000 short tons, or 0.029% of the estimated supply.
The mining product next in value to coal in 1908 was copper, taken chiefly in Carbon county in a zone of brecciated quartzite underlying schist, the original ore being chalcopyrite, with possibly some pyrite, a secondary enrichment, which has produced important bodies of chalcocite in the upper workings, but these are replaced by chalcopyrite at greater depth. The production in 1908 was 2,416,197 ℔, valued at $318,938. The gypsum product (from the Laramie plains) in 1908 was 31,188 tons, valued at $94,935.
There are extensive deposits of petroleum and natural gas, which have become of commercial importance. Oil has been found in eighteen different districts, the fields being known as follows:—The Carter, Hilliard, Spring Valley and Twin Creek in Uinta county; the Popo Agie, Lander, Shoshone, Beaver and a part of Dutton in Fremont county; the Rattlesnake, Arrago, Oil Mountain and a part of Dutton, Powder river and Salt Creek in Natrona county; part of Powder river and Salt Creek in Johnson county; Newcastle in Weston county; Belle Fourche in Crook county; Douglas in Converse county and Bonanza in Bighorn county. The Popo Agie and Lander fields produce the largest quantities of oil the wells being partly gushers from which a heavy fuel oil is obtained. This is now being used by the Chicago & North Western Railroad Company on its locomotives, and it is also used in Omaha (Nebraska) by manufacturing establishments. There is a great variety in the grades of oils produced in the state, ranging from the heavy asphaltic oils of the Popo Agie and Lander fields to the high-grade lubricants and superior light products obtained from the wells in the Douglas, Salt Creek and Uinta county fields. Natural gas in quantity has been found in the Douglas field and in Bighorn county.
The iron deposits are very extensive, and the ores consist of red haematites, magnetites, titanic, chrome and manganese irons. In nearly every county there are veins of iron ore of varying extent and quality, the most important being at Hartville, Laramie county. Iron Mountain, Albany county, the Seminole and Rawlins in Carbon county. The Hartville ores are remarkable for their high grade and purity, running from 60 to 70% metallic iron, with 2½ to 5% silica, and only traces of sulphur and phosphorus. The ore is a red haematite occurring in slate. The iron ore from this district obtained the grand prize at the World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 in competition with iron ores from all parts of the world. The Hartville iron deposits are worked by the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, which ships large quantities of ore to its furnaces at Pueblo, Colorado. The discovery of natural gas in the Douglas oil field has opened up the possibility of working a smelting plant at the mines by means of this cheap and convenient fuel. The distance to be covered by a pipe line is not prohibitive, and the matter has been under consideration by the owners and lessees of the iron mines.
There are sandstone deposits in Carbon county, which supplied the stone for the Capitol at Cheyenne and the state penitentiary; and from the Iron mountain quarries in Laramie county was taken the white variety used in building the Carnegie library and the Federal building in Cheyenne. Sandstones and quartzites were also quarried in 1902 in Albany, Crook and Uinta counties. Limestone occurs in thick formations near Lava Creek, and in the valley of the East Fork of the Yellowstone river; also near the summit of the Owl Creek range, and in the Wind River range. Gold was discovered on the Sweetwater river in 1867, and placer and quartz deposits have been found in almost every county in the state. Sulphur has been found near Cody and Thermopolis.
Irrigation.—The irrigable area of Wyoming is estimated at about 6,200,000 acres, lying chiefly in Bighorn, Sheridan and Johnson counties in the N.W. of the state, and in Laramie, Albany and Carbon counties in the S.E., though there are large tracts around the headwaters of the Bighorn river, in Fremont county in the west-central part, along the North Platte river and its tributaries in Converse county in the central part, and along the Green river and its tributaries in Sweetwater and Uinta counties in the S.W. Under the Carey Act and its amendments Congress had in 1909 given to the state about 2,000,000 acres of desert land on condition that it should be reclaimed, and in that year about 800,000 acres were in process of reclamation, mostly by private companies. Settlers intending to occupy such lands must satisfy the state that they have entered into contracts with the irrigating company for a sufficient water-right
- ↑ The breed of horses in Wyoming has improved rapidly; in 1904, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture purchased eighteen mares and a stallion in hope of improving the American carriage horse, six of the mares were from Wyoming and were principally of Morgan stocks.
