The upper reaches of the Bighorn, south of the Owl Creek Mountains in Wyoming, are known as the Wind River. The two rivers are sometimes referred to as the Wind/Bighorn. For practical purposes, Boysen Reservoir in the Owl Creek Mountains is considered to the be the start of the Bighorn. North of the dam, it flows through the Bighorn Basin in North Central Wyoming, passing east of the town of Thermopolis and Hot Spring State Park.
Bighorn, river, 461 mi (741 km) long, formed in W central Wyo. by the confluence of the Wind and Pop Agie rivers and flowing north to join the YellowstoneRiver in S Mont. The Bighorn basin, part of the Missouri River basin project, has several dams that provide for flood control, irrigation, hydroelectricity, and recreation.
Boysen and Yellowtail are the principal dams; the lake behind Yellowtail dam is the nucleus of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (see National Parks and Monuments, table).
The battle between the forces of Col. George Custer and the Sioux took place (1876) near the junction of the Bighorn and the Little Bighornrivers.
The BighornRiver is a tributary of the Yellowstone, approximately 461 mi (742 km) long, in the western United States in the states of Wyoming and Montana.
The upper reaches of the Bighorn, south of the Owl Creek Mountains in Wyoming, are known as the Wind River.
At the border with Montana, the river turns northeast, and flows past the north end of the Bighorns, through the Crow Indian Reservation, where the Yellowtail Dam forms the reservoirBighorn Lake.
Feeds |
Contact