List of rivers of Wyoming facts for kids
Wyoming is a state in the western United States known for its amazing natural beauty, including towering mountains and wide-open plains. A big part of this landscape is its many rivers. Rivers are like nature's highways, carrying water across the land. They are super important for everything from providing drinking water to creating homes for wildlife and even helping with farming.
Wyoming's rivers are special because they flow in different directions, depending on where they start. This is all thanks to something called the Continental Divide.
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Rivers East of the Continental Divide
The Continental Divide is like a giant natural line that runs through the Rocky Mountains. It separates which ocean the rivers will eventually flow into. Rivers that start on the east side of the Divide in Wyoming usually end up in the Atlantic Ocean, often by joining the mighty Missouri River.
Missouri River Watershed
A watershed is an area of land where all the water drains into a single river or lake. The Missouri River watershed is huge! Many rivers in eastern Wyoming are part of this system, eventually sending their water towards the Missouri River.
Here are some of the main rivers and their branches in this watershed:
- Gallatin River
- Madison River
- Yellowstone River
- Gardner River
- Lamar River
- Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River
- Wind River/Bighorn River
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- Shoshone River
- Greybull River
- Gooseberry Creek (Wind River/Bighorn River)
- Owl Creek
- Muddy Creek
- Nowood River
- Tensleep Creek
- Paint Rock Creek
- Tongue River
- Big Goose Creek (near Sheridan)
- Little Goose Creek (near Sheridan)
- Little Tongue River (Dayton)
- Big Goose Creek (near Sheridan)
- Powder River
- Clear Creek
- Rock Creek
- Clear Creek
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- Little Missouri River
- Cheyenne River
- Niobrara River
- North Platte River
- Encampment River
- Medicine Bow River
- Rock Creek
- Little Medicine Bow River
- Sweetwater River
- Laramie River
- Little Laramie River
- North Fork Little Laramie River
- Little Laramie River
* Libby Creek
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- Middle Fork Little Laramie River
- South Fork Little Laramie River
- North Laramie River
- Chugwater Creek
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South Platte River Watershed
Some rivers in southeastern Wyoming are part of the South Platte River watershed, which eventually joins the North Platte River and then the Missouri.
Rivers West of the Continental Divide
Rivers that start on the west side of the Continental Divide in Wyoming usually flow towards the Pacific Ocean. These rivers are part of different large watersheds that stretch across the western United States.
Colorado River Watershed
The Colorado River is famous for carving the Grand Canyon. Several rivers in southwestern Wyoming contribute their water to this mighty river.
- Green River
- Big Sandy River
- Blacks Fork
- Smiths Fork
- Hams Fork
- Yampa River
- New Fork River
Columbia River Watershed
The Columbia River is another major river in the Pacific Northwest. Rivers in northwestern Wyoming feed into this system, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean.
- Snake River
- Henrys Fork (ID)
- Salt River
- Swift Creek
- Cottonwood Creek
- Greys River
- Little Greys River
- Hoback River
- Granite Creek
- South Fork Hoback River
- Gros Ventre River
- Lewis River
- Heart River
- Wolverine Creek
- Plateau Creek
Great Salt Lake Watershed
Some rivers in western Wyoming flow into the Great Salt Lake in Utah. This lake is a "terminal lake," meaning rivers flow into it, but no rivers flow out. The water leaves only by evaporation.
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