Buffalo Bill State Park is a public recreation area surrounding the

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

formed 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 c ...

, an impoundment of the

Shoshone River The Shoshone River is a long river in northern Wyoming in the United States. Its headwaters are in the Absaroka Range in Shoshone National Forest. It ends when it runs into the Big Horn River near Lovell, Wyoming. Cities it runs near or thr ...

, in Park County,

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 ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

, reservoir and dam were named after William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, who founded the nearby town of

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, Wyo ...

and who owned much of the land now occupied by the reservoir and park. The park offers camping, hiking, boating, fishing, and picnicking and is managed by

Wyoming Division of State Parks and Historic Sites The Wyoming Division of State Parks and Historic Sites is the Wyoming state agency that administers its state parks. Also known as Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails, the agency is headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyoming. See also *List of ...

History

Buffalo Bill Cody was one of the most colorful figures of the

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

, mostly known for the shows he organized with

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

themes. He once owned some of the land that is now part of the state park bearing his name. He sold his property to the United States government prior to the construction of

. Cody settled in the Shoshone Canyon area in the 1870s. He first came to the region as a guide for a survey expedition. Cody spent parts the next twenty years in the area serving as a hunting guide. Buffalo Bill worked to bring

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

and agriculture development in Park County. He founded the nearby city of

in 1896. Construction on Buffalo Bill Dam, originally known as Shoshone Dam, began in 1905. Upon completion, in 1910, the dam was the highest in the world standing at . The dam is a concrete arch structure of constant radius. It was 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 first projects overseen by the

Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

. In addition to providing water for irrigation and downstream flood control, Buffalo Bill Dam provides

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...

for a power plant. The first and second units of the power plant were constructed in 1922. A third unit was built in 1931. Units one and two were decommissioned in 1980 and unit three was replaced in 1991. The park was established in 1957 and rebuilt in 1993 after an eight-year project to increase the height of the dam by . The original park facilities were flooded when the dam was raised and the reservoir was deepened and widened. The project added to the area of the lake. A visitors center at the dam was opened upon completion of the heightening of the dam. Further modifications to the dam included an expansion of the underground

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

and addition of gates to the spillway for flow control. The park's picnicking facilities and fencing were improved in 2007 by the Wyoming Conservation Corps.

Geology

The park occupies the Shoshone Canyon portion of the

in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

of northwestern Wyoming. The area is part of 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 ...

, which includes Rattlesnake Mountain, Cedar Mountain (also known as Spirit Mountain), Logan Mountain, Sheep Mountain, and

Carter Mountain Carter Mountain () is in Shoshone National Forest in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Carter Mountain slopes gently up from the Bighorn Basin to the east but has steep cliffs on its western face. The region is well known for large herds of bighorn sheep, ...

Activities and amenities

Recreational activities at the park include fishing, boating, hiking, camping and picnicking.

References

External links

Buffalo Bill State Park
Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails
Buffalo Bill State Park Brochure
Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails {{Authority control State parks of Wyoming Protected areas of Park County, Wyoming Protected areas established in 1957 1957 establishments in Wyoming