Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
industry in the late 19th century: cattle. Millions of cattle were driven into Wyoming in the
1870s and 1880s, and cattle barons soon dominated the natural and political landscape, ba-
sically buying off any and all forms of government. Sheep soon followed, taking advantage
of vast tracts of grasslands, and by 1902 there were more than six million sheep roaming
throughout Wyoming. Conflicts between sheepherders and cattlemen often escalated into
violence, but these died down as the government enacted policies and divided up the land.
Wyoming's first oil well was drilled in 1884, and by the time of the first oil boom in
1908, the state was pumping out nearly 18,000 barrels per year. Production continued to
climb, peaking in 1970, when more than 150 million barrels were pumped. It has declined
since then, leveling off at around 51-55 million barrels per year. The boom-and-bust oil
cycle of the 1970s and 1980s had a profound effect in Wyoming as so-called oil-patch towns
like Green River, Rock Springs, and Casper grew rapidly on the promise of high-paying oil
jobs, then fell flat as the industry bubble collapsed in the early 1980s. The bust left many of
these cities struggling to survive.
The oil industry in Wyoming has been replaced by coal, of which Wyoming is by far the
nation's leading producer. In 2011, the state provided 40 percent of the country's coal. Much
of the coal is located in the Powder River Basin and is used for coal-fired power plants. The
state produced more than 438 million tons of coal in 2011—a decrease from 2010—but still
has billions, maybe even trillions, of tons in reserves.
The newest boom is natural gas, and new wells for coal-bed methane are sprouting up in
the Powder River and Bighorn Basins. Wyoming is now the second-largest producer of nat-
ural gas in the country. Another rapidly growing sector of the economy is wind power. The
demand for natural gas and coal has driven Wyoming's population up again and brought the
state into a new time of prosperity.
Just as people migrated west and settled in Wyoming hundreds of years ago, people
today come to visit Yellowstone National Park, travel the Oregon Trail, or climb one of the
majestic peaks of the Teton Mountains. Tourism is now the state's second-largest industry,
worth more than $2.7 billion annually. Towns like Jackson Hole and Cody reap the benefits
of being adjacent to Yellowstone, while the park itself attracts more than three million vis-
itors annually.
Like Montana, Wyoming's balance among energy development, agriculture, and tourism
is the face of the New West, where people move for a better quality of life while still trying
to preserve the cultural heritage. Just like the settlers who established trading posts hun-
dreds of years ago, these new immigrants are chasing a dream of living in an unspoiled part
