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Wedged between the Bighorn Mountains and the Black Hills, Thunder Basin covers some of the richest fossil fuel deposits in the nation. Oil, natural gas, coal and uranium are all found within this central Wyoming basin.
Of the 20 national grasslands in the United States, the Thunder Basin National Grassland at 571,901 acres are the second largest.
Over 100,000 acres of private and federal lands have been exchanged in the pat ten years, resulting in a great deal of public grassland consolidation, especially in the south central portion around the Cheyenne River area.
About 200,000 acres of these grasslands have undergone some degree of archeological surface examination since the mid 1970s. About 1,100 prehistoric and historic sites have been located and recorded on the grasslands.The variety of individual sites range from Native American encampments, to historic trails and wagon roads, to more recent homesteads and pastoral camps.
The U.S. Forest Service has been numbering forest roads and signing property boundaries, especially in areas of recent land acquisition. There are over 1,000 miles of low standard roads for four-wheel-drive vehicles, all-terrain vehicles and motorbikes. An additional 18 miles of motorcycle trails exists near Upton, Wyoming.
There is a wheelchair-accessible trail and fishing pier at Turner Reservoir near Upton, Wyoming. Hunting is the area's most popular recreational activity. Waterfowl hunting is permitted on the hundreds of small stock watering ponds and numerous recreational reservoirs.
This grassland is part of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland.
Outdoor Activities |
