The Shoshone River is a long river in northern

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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Its headwaters are in the

Absaroka Range The Absaroka Range ( or ) is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about across the Montana–Wyoming border, and at its widest, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park along Paradise Va ...

Shoshone National Forest Shoshone National Forest ( ) is the first federally protected National Forest in the United States and covers nearly in the state of Wyoming. Originally a part of the Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, the forest is managed by the United States ...

. It ends when it runs into the Big Horn River near

Lovell, Wyoming Lovell is the largest town in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,360 at the 2010 census. History Lovell was named for Henry Lovell, a local rancher. Built in 1925, the EJZ Bridge over Shoshone River is listed on th ...

. Cities it runs near or through are

Cody Cody may refer to: People *Cody (given name) *Cody (surname) * Cody (wrestler), a ring name of Cody Runnels Places Canada * Cody, British Columbia United States * Cody, Florida * Cody (Duluth), Minnesota * Cody, Missouri * Cody, Nebraska *Cody, ...

, Powell,

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

, and Lovell. Near Cody, it runs through a volcanically active region of

fumaroles A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

known as

Colter's Hell Colter's Hell is an area of fumaroles and hot springs on the Shoshone River near Cody in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The thermal area covers about at the mouth of the Shoshone's canyon. Its thermal activity has declined since its description by ...

. This contributed to the river being named on old maps of Wyoming as the ''Stinking Water River''. The current name was established in 1901 due to popular demand. West of Cody the river is impounded in Shoshone Canyon by the

Buffalo Bill Dam Buffalo Bill Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Shoshone River in the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is named after the famous Wild West figure William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, who founded the nearby town of Cody and owned much of the land now ...

, created as part of the

Shoshone project The Shoshone Project is an irrigation project in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The project provides irrigation for approximately of crops in the Big Horn Basin, fulfilling the vision of local resident and developer Buffalo Bill Cody, who hoped to ma ...

; one of the nation's first water conservation projects. A number of hot springs along the Shoshone were drowned by the reservoir. Upstream of Buffalo Bill Reservoir the Shoshone splits into the North Fork, which follows a long canyon down from the

Absaroka Mountains The Absaroka Range ( or ) is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about across the Montana–Wyoming border, and at its widest, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park along Paradise Va ...

to the vicinity of the east entrance of

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

, and the South Fork, which originates at the southern end of the Absarokas.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Wyoming Tributaries of the Yellowstone River Rivers of Park County, Wyoming Rivers of Big Horn County, Wyoming

See also

References