The Red Desert is a high-altitude desert and sagebrush steppe located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, comprising approximately 9,320 square miles. Among the natural features
The Killpecker Sand Dunes of the Red Desert support a wide range of wildlife and vegetation, ranging from elk who use the adjoining sagebrush steppe for shelter to aquatic organisms that thrive in snowmelt ponds. Photo by the Bureau of Land Management.
Melting snowpack is the primary source of surface water in Wyoming, such as this temporary wetland in the Muddy Creek Watershed of the Red Desert.
Summer rains produce standing water in the desert, which supports wildlife, such as pronghorn, deer, and birds.
Steamboat Mountain, overlooking the Killpecker Sand Dunes, provides habitat for desert elk.
South Pass is a route across the Continental Divide, in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Wyoming. It lies in a broad high region, 35 miles wide, between the nearly 14,000 ft Wind River Range to the
Red Desert (Wyoming)
…the largest living dune system in the United States. In the 19th century, the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails crossed the Continental Divide at South Pass, just north of the Red Desert. Today, busy Interstate 80 bisects the desert's southern region while gas field roads cross the desert. The majority of…
Historic South Pass, seen from the east looking westward towards Pacific Springs
Location of South Pass along the Oregon Trail
Oregon Buttes - a wilderness study area on the Oregon Trail near South Pass City