Pacific Creek is a stream 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 ...

. The approximately long stream rises on the western side of South Pass and flows into the Little Sandy Creek near

Farson, Wyoming Farson is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 313 at the 2010 census. Geography and climate Farson is located at (42.171927, -109.420096). According to the United States Census Bur ...

. As the name implies, the stream starts just to the west of the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

and so is on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

side of the divide. The waters from the stream eventually flow into the Pacific Ocean via the

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

and

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

. The stream is a notable landmark on the

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

emigration trails.

Tributaries

Morrow Creek is a left tributary arising in the desert Lucite Hills on the Continental Divide about south of South Pass. Morrow Creek joins Pacific Creek just over halfway through its journey.

History

South Pass was first discovered by European-American traders in 1812; the first wagon trains crossed in 1832. Pacific Creek was the first water that the trains encountered after leaving the Sweetwater River at Burnt Ranch on the eastern side of the pass. Many wagon trains took the opportunity to camp and refresh at Pacific Springs, which is the first significant feeder into Pacific Creek. After leaving Pacific Creek, the wagon trains entered a dry stretch of the trail with the next good water nearly away at the Green River.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Wyoming Bodies of water of Fremont County, Wyoming Rivers of Sweetwater County, Wyoming

Tributaries

History

See also

References