74 Interesting & Fun Facts About Wyoming

Are you ready to explore a place with wide-open skies, towering mountains, and amazing wildlife? Let’s pack our bags and head to Wyoming, a state that’s full of surprises and breathtaking sights. From the first national park in the world to wild horses running free, Wyoming is a place where nature’s beauty is on full display. So, let’s start our journey and discover some cool facts about Wyoming!

First up, did you know that Wyoming is home to Yellowstone National Park? It’s not just any park—it’s the very first national park in the whole world, created way back in 1872. Imagine geysers shooting hot water up into the air, colorful hot springs, and even bears and bison roaming around. Yellowstone is like a giant outdoor adventure land!

But that’s not all Wyoming has to offer. It’s also where you’ll find the magnificent Grand Teton National Park. With its stunning mountain peaks that reach up to the sky, it’s a perfect place for hiking, camping, and spotting all kinds of animals like elk and moose. The views are so beautiful, they’ll take your breath away!

And here’s a fun fact about Wyoming: it is known as the “Equality State.” That’s because it was the first state to give women the right to vote way back in 1869. That’s a pretty big deal, showing that Wyoming has always been a place that believes in fairness and giving everyone a chance to have their voice heard.

Are you excited to learn more facts about Wyoming? From its world-famous national parks to its history of equality, Wyoming is a state that’s full of interesting stories and fun facts. Let’s keep exploring and find out all the amazing things that make Wyoming a wonderful place to visit and learn about!

Be sure to discover even more interesting facts with our Facts about Pennsylvania and Facts about Oklahoma.

Facts about Wyoming

1. Officially nicknamed the “Equality State” but also known as “Big Wyoming,” the “Park State,” and the “Cowboy State,” Wyoming was the 44th state to join the United States of America on July 10, 1890.
2. Wyoming is located in the Mountain West subregion (also called the Rocky Mountain States) of the Western United States.
3. The state reptile is the Horned Toad.
4. Grand Teton National Park is just below Yellowstone and is about 7 times smaller. It preserves a temperate ecosystem and is named after Grand Teton, the state’s second-tallest mountain (the tallest one is Gannett Peak).
5. The name Wyoming comes from a Native American expression that means “at the big plains”. This refers to the high-elevation prairies in some parts of present-day Wyoming. 
6. The state of Wyoming is one of only three states in the U.S. that has straight lines for each of its borders. 
7. In 1869, Wyoming territory became the first state to allow women aged 21 and above to exercise the right to vote. 
8. Wyoming has a population of 578,759 people (as of 2019), making it the least-populated U.S. state.
9. Old Faithful is one of the most popular attractions in Yellowstone. This natural marvel earned its name in 1870 when explorers noticed that it erupted “faithfully” at regular intervals.
10. With a total area of 97,914 mi² (253,600 km²), Wyoming is the 10th largest state by area. In terms of size, it is between Oregon and Michigan.
11. Almost half of the state is owned by the federal government, while 4% of the land is protected in state or national parks, putting it in the top 10 states in terms of protected lands.
12. Wyoming has 108,767 miles of rivers and streams in the state. 
13. James Cash Penney, the founder of the popular J.C. Penney Stores established his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. That was back in April 1902. Today, J.C. Penney has over one thousand stores in different parts of the USA. This store employs many people in Wyoming.
14. Wyoming has only two escalators in the entire state. Both of them are located in the town of Casper.
15. Wyoming covers 97,813 square miles including land and water, making it the 10th largest state by land area in the U.S.
16. The wife of Governor William Bradford Ross became the governor after he died. Nellie Tayloe Ross finished her husband’s term from 1925 to 1927. She served as the 14th governor of the state, and to this day, Nellie Tayloe Ross is the only female governor in Wyoming’s history.
17. Frontier Days includes an enormous pancake breakfast, serving around 40,000 people every year.
18. Yellowstone National Park is one of the most popular attractions in the country. Not only does it showcase North America’s gorgeous natural landscape, but it’s also huge.
19. The state is slightly larger than Guinea or the United Kingdom.
20. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Wyoming was a staggering 115 degrees on August 8, 1983.  The location for this record was in Basin, WY.

21. The award-winning Rocky IV is the fourth film in Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky series. The training scenes in Rocky IV were shot in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 
22. The federal government owns nearly half (48.19%) of Wyoming’s land, 30,043,512 acres out of 62,343,040 total acres. Federal lands include two national parks—Grand Teton and Yellowstone.
23. The capital of Wyoming is Cheyenne, which is tucked away in the southeast corner of the state.
24. With only 576,850 residents, Wyoming is the least populous state in the nation.
25. In Wyoming, most people have a gun and there are indications that Wyoming ranks among the states with the highest rates of gun ownership in the U.S. For every 1,000 residents, there are 195.7 guns in the state. Gun homicide is very rare in Wyoming. 
26. The coldest temperature in Wyoming was recorded on Feb 9, 1933, in Yellowstone National Park.  The mercury hit an incredible low of 66 degrees BELOW zero!
27. The largest hot spring in the USA is located in Wyoming. The Grand Prismatic Spring is actually in Yellowstone Park and it is the third-largest spring in the world. This spring is 250 by 300 feet and is remarkable for its rich colors.
28. The largest park in Wyoming is the Boysen. This park is located in Riverton and it is home to the nearby Boysen Reservoir.
29. Basin recorded the hottest temperature in Wyoming, 116°F (46.67°C), on August 8, 1983, while Riverside recorded the coldest temperature on February 9, 1933: -66°F (-54.44°C).
30. Wyoming has 23 counties. There is only one area code (307) throughout the entire state, all of which is in the Mountain Time Zone.
31. Wyoming is home to more than 100 species of mammals, including the wild horse, deer, elk, wolf, moose, grizzly bear, black bear, mountain lion, and pronghorn antelope.
32. In Wyoming, there’s a law forbidding the use of firearms to fish.
33. The Wind River’s name is both metaphorical and quite literal, referring to both the river and the mountain range. If you visit, you’ll experience the near-constant strong winds that blow through the area from the Shoshone to the Wind River mountains.
34.  In 1881, the infamous outlaw Big Nose George Parrot was lynched. An eccentric doctor had the criminal’s skin tanned and transformed into shoes.
35. Cheyenne is the 2nd highest capital in the U.S., at 6063 feet (1848 m). Only Santa Fe in New Mexico is higher.
36. Jackson doesn’t even make the top ten for the snowiest towns in Wyoming (they are ranked 11th).  Moran is the snowiest location in Wyoming with an average snowfall of 166.86 inches.  Lander ranks 177th out of 246 locations in the state for snowfall per year.
37. There’s also an old law forbidding a woman to stand within five feet of a bar while drinking.
38. It’s also prohibited to ski under the influence of alcohol.
39. One could land in jail for up to a year if found drunk in a mine.
40. The first “Dude Ranch“ in the world was established at Wolf, Wyoming. This ranch was moved to its present location in 1904 and it is still in operation.

41. Wyoming has several state symbols. The state tree is the cottonwood and the state bird is the meadowlark. The state flower is the Indian Paintbrush and there is even a state dinosaur. The state dinosaur is the Triceratops.
42. The climate in Wyoming is drier and windier than most of the U.S. with greater temperature extremes. The state averages only 14.5 inches of precipitation a year.
43. 400 species of birds can also be found in the state, including bald eagles.
44. Laramie, Wyoming was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records on April 30, 2015. More than 1,000 swing dancers (Cowboy Country Swing Club) danced all together at the same time at the University of Wyoming.
45. The University of Wyoming is the only public four-year institution in the state. This school was established four years before Wyoming became a state in 1886.
46. The pronghorn is the second fastest animal on land (after the cheetah) and it is a native of Wyoming. The pronghorn is also the fastest land animal in the Western Hemisphere and these animals can travel at speeds of 60-70 mph.
47. Wyoming has been inhabited for at least 13,000 years.
48. The Bucking Horse and Rider is a symbol and official trademark of Wyoming.
49. The Shoshone National Forest is the first national forest and received that title in 1891.
50. Originally, the region of Wyoming was inhabited by the Shoshone, Arapaho, Crow, and Lakota indigenous tribes. Today, they make up 3% of the state’s population.
51. Wyoming’s oldest person lived to the ripe old age of 110 years, 6 days.  Fannie Barney was born in July 1873 and passed away on August 4, 1983.  Think of the stories she could tell!
52. Campbell County High School is the largest secondary school in Wyoming. This school has 8,100 students and sits on 4,761 square miles. The school has a student-to-teacher ratio of 18:1 and it has 25 school facilities.
53. The Wyoming Gold Rush came almost 20 years after the California Gold Rush. This happened in 1867 when Lewis Robison and Joshua Terry discovered the Carisso ledge.
54. Any person who fails to close a fence can face a fine of up to $750.
55. Wearing a hat that obstructs people’s view in a place of amusement, such as a public theater, is against the law.
56. The U.S. purchased much of Wyoming in the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803.
57. The Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. Gannett Peak, at 13,804 feet, is the highest point in Wyoming while Belle Fouche River valley in the state’s northeast corner is the lowest point at 3,125 feet above sea level.
58. In the mid-1800s, Wyoming was a known destination for hunters looking for dinosaur bones, especially in the southeast part. 
59. There were over ten Native American tribes living in Wyoming when Europeans first arrived.
60. Built in 1834, Fort Laramie was initially used as a trading outpost before being converted into a military base. After the U.S. expanded its territory, Fort Laramie became crucial to maintaining safety and communication with the West.

61. The state’s name comes from the Lenape Native American word mecheweami-ing, which means “on the big plain”.
62. The nation’s first woman to serve on a jury was Eliza Stewart Boyd.
63. During the 1880s, Cheyenne was the richest city in the Country due to a booming cattle industry and the gold rush all over the state.
64. The Laramie County Library System is the oldest organized library system in the USA. This library has been in existence since 1886 and it is still going strong.
65. Today’s Wyoming has been inhabited by Paleo-Indian people for at least 12,0000 years.
66. The Black Thunder coal mine and North Antelope Rochelle are two of the world’s biggest coal mines. Coal is a huge business in the Equality State. Approximately, 40% of the United States’ coal supply comes from Wyoming.
67. Yellowstone Park has the largest high-altitude freshwater lake in North America. At its deepest, the lake reaches nearly 400 feet. It’s also nearly 140 square miles in area and has 110 miles of shoreline. Its altitude is an impressive 7,700 feet above sea level.
68. Citizens of Wyoming are called Wyomingites.
69. The official state mammal of Wyoming is the bison.
70. In north-central Wyoming, a mysterious pattern of stones sits at an elevation of 9,642 feet near the crest of the Bighorn Mountains. The Medicine Wheel is an ancient shrine of stone with 28 spokes and a circumference of 245 feet. 
71. An old tourism slogan for Wyoming, “Like no place on Earth”, was ridiculed for suggesting that Wyoming was not of this world.
72. The official state motto of Wyoming is “Equal Rights”.
73. Wyoming’s state flag has a blue background with a white bison silhouette. The state seal is depicted in blue on the silhouette as a tribute to the custom of branding livestock. The blue symbolizes the mountains and skies, as well as the traits of fidelity, vitality, and justice. The red border symbolizes the blood shed by pioneers, and the white symbolizes purity.
74.  In 1939, some areas in northern Wyoming made an attempt to join parts of Montana and South Dakota to form a new state. The new state was to be called “Absaroka” with Sheridan, as its proposed capital.

Do you have even more interesting facts about Wyoming? Share them with us in the comments!