They say you can always count on two things: death and taxes. In Wyoming, we add the wind to that list. If it’s not blowing, that’s only because nature is drawing in another breath to blow even harder the next time.
If you’ve ever doubted the tenacity and power of the Wyoming wind, you should visit the vast basin near Laramie. Known as Big Hollow, it’s a huge depression in the earth where there didn’t use to be one. In studying the area, scientists determined that it was the wind relentlessly blowing over the landscape that carved out the massive hole in the ground.
Anyone who has been in Wyoming for even a short period of time doesn’t need signs to tell them it’s windy.
Exploring the Nature of Wyoming|UWyo Extension/YouTube
If you want to see proof of just how windy it gets in the Cowboy State, you can visit Big Hollow.
Exploring the Nature of Wyoming|UWyo Extension/YouTube
Located about 15 miles west of Laramie, it’s a spot where the ground dips significantly.
Google Maps
This type of landmark is called a deflation basin, and it’s caused by eons of wind blowing over the Earth’s surface.
Exploring the Nature of Wyoming|UWyo Extension/YouTube Impressively, Big Hollow is the second largest deflation basin in the world.
There actually used to be a hill on the spot where there’s now a hole. Scientists say it was made of soft sandy rock.
Exploring the Nature of Wyoming|UWyo Extension/YouTube
As persistent strong winds blew, they eventually eroded the hill away. At one point, a depression formed, one that is now 200 feet deep in the lowest spots, and measuring 4 miles wide by 11 miles long.
Exploring the Nature of Wyoming|UWyo Extension/YouTube
Geologists have compared the layers of ground around Big Hollow to the basin floor and determined that it is a fairly new spot on the landscape, having been formed in the last 250,000 years. The unique features of the basin have earned it a place on the National Natural Landmark list.
Exploring the Nature of Wyoming|UWyo Extension/YouTube
Also notable, oil was discovered in the basin about 100 years ago.
Bureau of Land Management/Flickr
And, now that technology has made it possible to harness the power of the wind, the area is an amazingly productive source of power for the state and the nation.
daBinsi/Flickr It’s been estimated that around 60 percent of Wyoming’s wind-generated electricity is sold to other states.
Have you ever visited Big Hollow? What other incredible natural attractions have been created by the Wyoming wind?
Exploring the Nature of Wyoming|UWyo Extension/YouTube
Google Maps
Impressively, Big Hollow is the second largest deflation basin in the world.
Bureau of Land Management/Flickr
daBinsi/Flickr
It’s been estimated that around 60 percent of Wyoming’s wind-generated electricity is sold to other states.
The wind isn’t the only force to be reckoned with in the Cowboy State. The powerful Wyoming waters are capable of carving rock, and they even created a natural bridge that will amaze you.
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