Great Divide Basin
| Great Divide Basin | |
| drainage basin | |
 The Great Divide Basin is a United States endorheic drainage basin of the Continental Divide of the Americas.
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Wyoming |
| Region | Red Desert |
| Part of | Wyoming Basin physiographic province |
| Range | Wind River & Sierra Madre Range |
| Location | Bridger Pass, Carbon County [1] |
| - elevation | 7,589 ft (2,313.1 m) [2] |
| - coordinates | 41°33′02″N 107°25′51″W / 41.55056°N 107.43083°W |
| Area | 3,959 sq mi (10,253.8 km2) [3] |
| Orogeny | geologic anticline:[citation needed]
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The Great Divide Basin is a drainage basin of the Continental Divide of the Americas. The basin is between the Green River watershed on the west (drains to the Pacific Ocean/Gulf of California) and the Medicine Bow River watershed on the east (drains to the Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico). From the northwest, the basin begins in the "Wind River Range ... near South Pass", extending southwest to "historic Bridger Pass south of Atlantic Peak" on the crest of the Sierra Madre Range, ~20 miles southwest of Rawlins, Wyoming.[4]
The basin is a high desert[specify] dominated by sand dunes, bluffs and alkali flats. Flora and fauna include small trees in some ravines and the occasional shrub, along with many birds (e.g., sage grouse, pheasant) and pronghorn, mule deer, feral horses, and the occasional elk. The basin includes uranium ore deposits and many oil and natural gas wells.[5] U.S. Highway 287 (north-south) through Rawlins, Wyoming and Interstate 80 (east-west) traverse the basin. In addition to the town of Wamsutter, the basin includes Eagles Nest Draw[1] at 6501 ft.[2]
A westward traveler on Interstate 80 crosses from Gulf of Mexico drainage to the Great Divide Basin at about 41°46′34″N 107°19′23″W / 41.776°N 107.323°W a few miles west of Rawlins, and crosses to Colorado River drainage at about 41°37′50″N 108°18′47″W / 41.6305°N 108.313°W At 41°16′32″N 110°48′07″W / 41.2755°N 110.802°W he enters the Great Basin and stays in it until the crest of the Sierra Nevada.
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Great Divide Closed Basin |
[edit] References
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Great Divide Basin (1597072), Bridger Pass (1605097)
- ^ a b "Elevation Web Service Query". USGS. http://gisdata.usgs.gov/xmlwebservices2/elevation_service.asmx?op=getElevation. Retrieved 2010-04-19. (Bridger Pass: 41.5505162 -107.4308944 7589 | Eagles Nest Draw: 42.0002345 -108.0009183W 6501)
- ^ "Statewide Data Inventory - Green River/Great Divide Basin Introduction". Waterplan.state.wy.us. http://waterplan.state.wy.us/sdi/GG/GG-over.html. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
- ^ a b "Select Area of Interest". Wyoming Stratigraphy. Wyoming State Geological Survey. http://www.wsgs.uwyo.edu/StratWeb/indexmap/indexmap.aspx. Retrieved 2010-04-24. (Great Basin Divide, Washakie Basin)
- ^ "Energy Metals Corporation Adds 5 Uranium Deposits And 39.5 Million Pounds In The Great Divide Basin, Wyoming". Marketwire.com. February 23, 2005. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Energy-Metals-Corporation-532278.html. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
