Medicine Bow–Routt National Forest
| Medicine Bow–Routt National Forest | |
|---|---|
 Medicine Bow National Forest | |
  | |
| Location | Wyoming-Colorado,U.S. |
| Nearest city | Cheyenne, WY |
| Coordinates | 41°35′N106°13′W/ 41.583°N 106.217°W |
| Area | 2,222,313 acres (8,993.38 km2)[1] |
| Established | May 22, 1902[2] |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
| Website | Medicine Bow–Routt National Forest |
Medicine Bow–Routt National Forestis the official title to aU.S. Forest Servicemanaged area extending over 2,222,313 acres (8,993.38 km2)[3]in the states ofWyomingandColorado,United States.What were once three separate areas, Medicine Bow National Forest, Routt National Forest, andThunder Basin National Grasslandwere administratively combined in 1995 due to similarity of the resources, proximity to each other and for administrative purposes.
The Medicine Bow National Forest section (1,096,891 acres) is located in southeastern Wyoming and was originally created as a forest reserve in 1902. It was named after the Native Americanpowwowsin which numerous tribes would congregate here in search ofmountain mahogany,which was an excellent wood for the manufacturing of bows, and to perform rituals hoped to cure diseases and thus make "good medicine". Areas of interest include theSnowy Rangewhere the highest peak isMedicine Bow Peakat 12,013 feet (3,662 m) and is visible from Snowy Range Pass, 10,847 ft (3,306 m), on Wyoming highway 130. TheEncampment River,Huston Park,Savage RunandPlatte River Wildernessesare all located within the Medicine Bow portion of the National Forest. (A small part of the Platte River Wilderness extending into Colorado is shared with Routt National Forest, as indicated below.)[4]Vedauwoois located immediately north ofInterstate 80and consists of numerous rock outcroppings popular withrock climbers.In descending order of land area the forest is located inCarbon,Albany,Converse,Natrona,andPlattecounties. There are localrangerdistrict offices located inLaramie,Saratoga,andDouglas.[5]
Routt National Forest lands (1,125,438 acres) are located in northwestern Colorado. TheSteamboat Ski Resortis located in the forest, onMount Werner.The forest is named afterJohn Routt,the firstGovernor of Colorado.It was established in 1905 by PresidentTheodore Roosevelt.The forest encompasses 1,126,346 acres (4,558.16 km2). TheContinental Dividedivides the forest in half, with the eastern part drained by theNorth Platte Riverand the west drained by theYampa River.Routt National Forest contains seven wilderness areas entirely or partially within it. Entirely within Routt are theMount Zirkeland theSarvis Creek Wildernesses.Lying mostly within neighboring forests but extending into Routt are theFlat Tops(White River NF83.5%),Neota(Roosevelt NF97.3%),Never Summer(Arapaho NF68.4%), Platte River (Medicine Bow NF 96.8%), andRawah(Roosevelt NF 98.0%) Wildernesses. In descending order of land area the forest is located inRoutt,Jackson,Rio Blanco,Grand,Moffat,andGarfieldcounties. There are local ranger district offices located inSteamboat Springs,Walden,andYampa.
Thunder Basin National Grassland(547,620 acres) is located in northeastern Wyoming and consists primarily of lands leased to cattle interests. In descending order of land area the grassland is located inWeston,Converse,Campbell,Niobrara,andCrookcounties. There are local ranger district offices located inDouglas.
The forest headquarters is inLaramie, Wyoming.
Climate
[edit]There is a weather station bySand Lake (Wyoming),about 5 miles (8 km) north of Medicine Bow Peak. Sand Lake has asubalpine climate(KöppenDfc).
| Climate data for Sand Lake, Wyoming (10050ft or 3063m), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1988–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 47 (8) |
47 (8) |
59 (15) |
64 (18) |
72 (22) |
76 (24) |
85 (29) |
80 (27) |
74 (23) |
64 (18) |
53 (12) |
55 (13) |
85 (29) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 35.9 (2.2) |
39.8 (4.3) |
49.4 (9.7) |
57.2 (14.0) |
64.2 (17.9) |
71.0 (21.7) |
75.7 (24.3) |
73.6 (23.1) |
68.6 (20.3) |
57.8 (14.3) |
45.8 (7.7) |
37.5 (3.1) |
76.4 (24.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 22.1 (−5.5) |
25.1 (−3.8) |
33.5 (0.8) |
40.3 (4.6) |
50.1 (10.1) |
59.9 (15.5) |
67.4 (19.7) |
65.2 (18.4) |
56.1 (13.4) |
42.2 (5.7) |
30.1 (−1.1) |
22.3 (−5.4) |
42.9 (6.0) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 15.1 (−9.4) |
16.7 (−8.5) |
23.7 (−4.6) |
29.4 (−1.4) |
38.5 (3.6) |
46.9 (8.3) |
54.0 (12.2) |
52.3 (11.3) |
44.8 (7.1) |
33.4 (0.8) |
22.6 (−5.2) |
15.3 (−9.3) |
32.7 (0.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 8.0 (−13.3) |
8.2 (−13.2) |
13.7 (−10.2) |
18.5 (−7.5) |
26.9 (−2.8) |
33.9 (1.1) |
40.5 (4.7) |
39.3 (4.1) |
33.4 (0.8) |
24.4 (−4.2) |
15.1 (−9.4) |
8.2 (−13.2) |
22.5 (−5.3) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −12.2 (−24.6) |
−11.7 (−24.3) |
−6.1 (−21.2) |
1.2 (−17.1) |
11.3 (−11.5) |
25.4 (−3.7) |
32.4 (0.2) |
30.9 (−0.6) |
21.0 (−6.1) |
5.7 (−14.6) |
−5.5 (−20.8) |
−12.6 (−24.8) |
−17.4 (−27.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −25 (−32) |
−25 (−32) |
−14 (−26) |
−8 (−22) |
−2 (−19) |
18 (−8) |
24 (−4) |
23 (−5) |
7 (−14) |
−13 (−25) |
−19 (−28) |
−26 (−32) |
−26 (−32) |
| Averageprecipitationinches (mm) | 4.33 (110) |
4.15 (105) |
4.71 (120) |
5.71 (145) |
4.24 (108) |
2.36 (60) |
1.58 (40) |
1.24 (31) |
2.14 (54) |
3.46 (88) |
3.72 (94) |
4.12 (105) |
41.76 (1,060) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 70.1 (178) |
84.7 (215) |
98.9 (251) |
102.3 (260) |
91.9 (233) |
56.8 (144) |
4.9 (12) |
0.1 (0.25) |
2.7 (6.9) |
19.8 (50) |
36.9 (94) |
54.9 (139) |
105.7 (268) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 18.3 | 17.2 | 18.1 | 18.2 | 14.6 | 9.3 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 9.6 | 12.1 | 14.5 | 16.7 | 162.5 |
| Source 1: XMACIS2 (snow depth 2006–2020)[6] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (Precipitation)[7] | |||||||||||||
North French Creek is another weather station located near Medicine Bow Peak, roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of the peak and 10 miles (16.1 km) from Sand Lake.
| Climate data for North French Creek, Wyoming, 1991–2020 normals, 1988-2020 extremes: 10130ft (3088m) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 48 (9) |
48 (9) |
57 (14) |
68 (20) |
72 (22) |
81 (27) |
86 (30) |
92 (33) |
79 (26) |
71 (22) |
58 (14) |
48 (9) |
92 (33) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 38.9 (3.8) |
39.5 (4.2) |
47.8 (8.8) |
57.1 (13.9) |
64.0 (17.8) |
71.8 (22.1) |
78.7 (25.9) |
75.8 (24.3) |
71.0 (21.7) |
58.9 (14.9) |
46.1 (7.8) |
36.7 (2.6) |
79.4 (26.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 23.3 (−4.8) |
25.6 (−3.6) |
33.3 (0.7) |
40.2 (4.6) |
50.0 (10.0) |
60.4 (15.8) |
69.4 (20.8) |
66.8 (19.3) |
57.5 (14.2) |
42.7 (5.9) |
29.7 (−1.3) |
22.2 (−5.4) |
43.2 (6.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 14.8 (−9.6) |
16.4 (−8.7) |
23.0 (−5.0) |
29.1 (−1.6) |
38.8 (3.8) |
47.6 (8.7) |
55.8 (13.2) |
54.2 (12.3) |
46.1 (7.8) |
33.3 (0.7) |
21.1 (−6.1) |
14.1 (−9.9) |
32.5 (0.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 6.3 (−14.3) |
7.1 (−13.8) |
12.6 (−10.8) |
18.1 (−7.7) |
27.4 (−2.6) |
35.0 (1.7) |
42.3 (5.7) |
41.3 (5.2) |
34.0 (1.1) |
23.5 (−4.7) |
12.7 (−10.7) |
6.0 (−14.4) |
22.0 (−5.6) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −12.5 (−24.7) |
−10.7 (−23.7) |
−5.0 (−20.6) |
2.3 (−16.5) |
11.7 (−11.3) |
23.8 (−4.6) |
33.5 (0.8) |
31.6 (−0.2) |
20.3 (−6.5) |
5.8 (−14.6) |
−6.6 (−21.4) |
−13.1 (−25.1) |
−17.4 (−27.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −27 (−33) |
−30 (−34) |
−23 (−31) |
−15 (−26) |
−1 (−18) |
11 (−12) |
19 (−7) |
11 (−12) |
7 (−14) |
−25 (−32) |
−26 (−32) |
−37 (−38) |
−37 (−38) |
| Averageprecipitationinches (mm) | 5.24 (133) |
4.55 (116) |
4.65 (118) |
5.63 (143) |
4.26 (108) |
2.09 (53) |
1.55 (39) |
1.57 (40) |
2.37 (60) |
3.46 (88) |
4.15 (105) |
4.61 (117) |
44.13 (1,120) |
| Source 1: XMACIS2[8] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (Precipitation)[9] | |||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^"Land Areas of the National Forest System"(PDF).U.S. Forest Service. January 2012.RetrievedJune 30,2012.
- ^"The National Forests of the United States"(PDF).ForestHistory.org. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 28, 2012.RetrievedJuly 30,2012.
- ^Table 6 – NFS Acreage by State, Congressional District and County–United States Forest Service– September 30, 2007
- ^Platte River Wilderness acreage breakdown, Wilderness.net
- ^"Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests & Thunder Basin National Grassland".fs.usda.gov.Archived fromthe originalon March 4, 2016.
- ^ "xmACIS2".National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.RetrievedSeptember 24,2023.
- ^ "Sand Lake, Wyoming 1991–2020 Monthly Normals".RetrievedSeptember 26,2023.
- ^ "xmACIS2".National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.RetrievedDecember 5,2023.
- ^ "North French Creek, Wyoming 1991-2020 Monthly Normals".RetrievedDecember 5,2023.
Further reading
[edit]- Bankey, Viki; Soulliere, Sandra J.; Toth, Margo I., eds. (2000).Mineral resource potential and geology of the Routt National Forest and the Middle Park Ranger District of the Arapaho National Forest, Colorado.Washington: U.S. Geological Survey via U.S. G.P.O.ISBN0-607-91992-2.OCLC42752422.[U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1610].
External links
[edit]
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Newsfrom Wikinews
Quotationsfrom Wikiquote
Textsfrom Wikisource
Textbooksfrom Wikibooks
Resourcesfrom Wikiversity
- "USDA Forest Service, Medicine Bow & Routt National Forests, Thunder Basin National Grassland - Home".fs.fed.us.Archived fromthe originalon June 18, 2009.
- Medicine Bow National Forest
- Routt National Forest
- National Forests of Colorado
- National Forests of Wyoming
- National Forests of the Rocky Mountains
- Protected areas established in 1902
- Protected areas of Carbon County, Wyoming
- Protected areas of Albany County, Wyoming
- Protected areas of Converse County, Wyoming
- Protected areas of Natrona County, Wyoming
- Protected areas of Platte County, Wyoming
- Protected areas of Weston County, Wyoming
- Protected areas of Campbell County, Wyoming
- Protected areas of Niobrara County, Wyoming
- Protected areas of Crook County, Wyoming
- Protected areas of Routt County, Colorado
- Protected areas of Jackson County, Colorado
- Protected areas of Rio Blanco County, Colorado
- Protected areas of Grand County, Colorado
- Protected areas of Moffat County, Colorado
- Protected areas of Garfield County, Colorado
- 1902 establishments in Wyoming
- 1905 establishments in Colorado
- Protected areas established in 1905