- Bighorn River
The Bighorn River is a
tributary of the Yellowstone, approximately 461 mi (742 km) long, in the westernUnited States in the states ofWyoming andMontana .The upper reaches of the Bighorn, south of the
Owl Creek Mountains in Wyoming, are known as the Wind River. The two rivers are sometimes referred to as the Wind/Bighorn. The Wind River officially becomes the Bighorn River at the Wedding of the Waters, on the north side of the Wind River Canyon near the town of Thermopolis. From there, it flows through theBighorn Basin in North Central Wyoming, passing through Thermopolis and Hot Spring State Park.At the border with Montana, the river turns northeast, and flows past the north end of the Bighorns, through the Crow Indian Reservation, where the
Yellowtail Dam forms the reservoirBighorn Lake . The reservoir and the surroundinggorge are part of theBighorn Canyon National Recreation Area .It is joined by the
Little Bighorn River near the town ofHardin, Montana . Approximately fifty miles further downriver, it joins the Yellowstone.ee also
*
List of Wyoming rivers
*List of rivers of Montana
*Montana Stream Access Law External links
* [http://waterplan.state.wy.us/basins/bighorn/bighorn.html State of Wyoming: Bighorn River Basin]
* [http://wyomingpartners.fws.gov/wy3c.htm U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Wind/Bighorn River Drainage]
* [http://gf.state.wy.us/wildlife/access/gf/public/bighornwedding.asp Wyoming Game and Fish map showing the Wind River becoming the Bighorn.]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.