Pathfinder Reservoir is located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

on the

North Platte River The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long, counting its many curves.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 21, 2011 In a ...

between

Casper Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * David ...

and Rawlins. It sits 47 miles (76 km) southwest of Casper, in Carbon County and

Natrona County Natrona County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 79,955, making it the second-most populous county in Wyoming. Its county seat is Casper. Natrona County comprises the Casper, WY ...

. The reservoir was created by

Pathfinder Dam Pathfinder Dam is a cyclopean masonry, masonry dam, located on the North Platte River, approximately southwest of Casper, Wyoming. It was originally constructed from 1905 to 1909 as part of the North Platte Project and has been modified several ...

and has a storage capacity of . The shoreline consists of 117 miles (188 km). Much of the water used to serve the 335,000 acre (1360 km²)

North Platte Project The North Platte Project (originally the Sweetwater Project) is an irrigation project in the U.S. states of Wyoming and Nebraska. The project provides irrigation service to about . The primary water storage for the project is in Pathfinder Reserv ...

is stored here. Some of the water in the reservoir is released to satisfy other water rights and to operate power plants downstream of the reservoir. Much of the Pathfinder Reservoir is included in the

Pathfinder National Wildlife Refuge Pathfinder National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state of Wyoming and includes 16,807 acres (68 km2). The refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, both agencies within the U. ...

. Pathfinder Reservoir is the site of the only established population of the Macedonian Ohrid Trout (S. letnica) in the United States.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Pathfinder Reservoir has a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded at Pathfinder Reservoir was on July 14, 1925, July 12-13, 1954, July 22, 1960, and July 7-9, 1989, while the coldest temperature recorded was on January 17, 1930.

References

External links

*
Pathfinder Reservoir bottom topography map
Reservoirs in Wyoming Lakes of Carbon County, Wyoming Lakes of Natrona County, Wyoming {{Wyoming-geo-stub

Climate

See also

References

External links