Wind River (Wyoming)

Wind River
Wild River, Bighorn River
Wind River Canyon downstream from Boysen Dam
Country	United States
State	Wyoming
Tributaries
- left	East Fork Wind River
- right	Dinwoody Creek, Bull Lake Creek, Little Wind River
Cities	Dubois, Crowheart, Johnstown, Riverton
Source	Two Ocean Mountain
- location	Wind River Range, Teton County
- elevation	9,760 ft (2,975 m)
- coordinates	43°44′50″N 110°04′27″W
Mouth	Bighorn River
- location	Wedding of the Waters, Hot Springs County
- elevation	4,472 ft (1,363 m)
- coordinates	43°34′52″N 108°12′44″W
Length	185 mi (298 km)
Basin	7,730 sq mi (20,021 km2)
Discharge	for below Boysen Dam
- average	1,357 cu ft/s (38 m3/s)
- max	28,700 cu ft/s (813 m3/s)
- min	4.7 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
The Wind-Bighorn rivers

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) long. The two rivers are sometimes referred to as the Wind/Bighorn.

Course

Wind River as part of the Boysen Reservoir near Thermopolis, Wyoming

It arises in several forks along the north side of the Wind River Range in west central Wyoming. It flows southeastward, across the Shoshone Basin and the Wind River Indian Reservation and joins the Little Wind River near Riverton. 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

• List of rivers of Wyoming
• List of tributaries of the Missouri River

External links

• Wyoming State Water Plan: Wind/Bighorn Rivers
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Wind/Bighorn River Drainage
• Wind River History
• Wind River Info
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Wind River