Wyoming got its nickname “The Equality State” when it granted women the right to vote in 1869, the first state to do so. Although Wyoming is one of the 10 largest states in the U.S., it is also the least populated, with barely more than 575,000 residents. Gathered here, a few glimpses into the beautiful wide open spaces of Wyoming, and some of the animals and people that call it home.
This photo story is part of Fifty, a collection of images from each of the United States.
An aerial view of Devils Tower National Monument in northeastern Wyoming. The butte, composed of igneous rock, stands 867 feet (265 meters) above the surrounding countryside. #
Beartooth Falls, photographed along Beartooth Scenic Highway #
The setting sun backlights a herd of pronghorn at Wyoming's Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Heavy hoarfrost coats the sagebrush as fog starts to develop, and the breath from the pronghorn herd is visible in the sunlight. #
A freight train approaches the tiny Converse County, Wyoming, town of Bill. The settlement is rumored to have begun shortly after World War I, when a doctor moved there. It was called "Bill" by the doctor's wife due to the large number of men in the area with that name. Before long, Bill had a post office and small store selling sandwiches to truckers, and a country school for children from surrounding ranches. The owner of the store even established the "Bill Yacht Club", which had no boats and no water but sold hats and T-shirts to tourists who felt they were in on the joke. By 2008, the community had been developed to include a 112-room hotel and a 24-hour diner (both open to everyone, but catering to railroaders, who were required to stop and take mandatory rests in Bill). #
Ranch manager Mark Dunning oversees a roundup at the Big Creek cattle ranch near the Colorado border in Carbon County, Wyoming. #
A view of the Teton Range in Grand Teton National Park, seen from Schwabacher Landing along Snake River. #
A scene from a parade through downtown Cheyenne during the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration in the Wyoming capital. The Western celebration—which is viewed by an estimated 200,000 onlookers and draws throngs of tourists each year to the city of 63,000 people—includes one of the West's most celebrated rodeos, American Indian pageantry, free pancake breakfasts, and other events. #
A black tree stands in a snowy white landscape in Yellowstone National Park's Hayden Valley. #
A snow-covered bison rests along the Gardner River in Yellowstone National Park. #
Yellowstone National Park's Lion Geyser, photographed at sunset. #
Tourists walk on the boardwalk along Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring at Yellowstone National Park. #
A coyote walks in Yellowstone National Park on August 11, 2011. #
A set of animal tracks through Boars Tusk, which sits at 7,100 feet of elevation and rises 400 feet above the valley floor. Used as a landmark for hikers, mountain bikers and railroad travelers, this distinct feature is the core of a long-dormant volcanic eruption. The lamproite material that makes up the feature dates back 2.5 million years. #
An aerial view of the Boars Tusk at dawn. Volcanic remnants stand above the Killpecker Creek plain in southwestern Wyoming. #
The first block of Ivinson Avenue in Laramie, Wyoming #
Red-striped rocks in the Wind River Range near Dubois, Wyoming. #
A wild horse is seen in the McCullough Peaks Wild Horse Herd Management Area east of Cody, Wyoming. #
A view of wildflowers above Red Canyon in Fremont County #
A scene along West Railroad Street near the still-bustling tracks and freight terminals of the Union Pacific Railroad in Green River, Wyoming, on May 22, 2016. #
An Aspen tree with fall foliage stands under a blue sky in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. #
A herd of bison surrounds a car as they walk along the road toward Yellowstone National Park's Lamar Valley. #
The first snow of the year takes place in Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. #
A white-tailed jackrabbit bounds over snow in Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. #
Fresh snow covers a sage steppe. #
A bull elk searches for food beneath the snow in Yellowstone National Park. #
The brink of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, photographed in September of 2014. #
A greater sage-grouse takes to the air in Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. #
Rangeland Management Specialist Meg Armistead took this photo from horseback, while doing an allotment inspection on some rough Bureau of Land Management country outside of Thermopolis. #
The sun begins to set over Fremont Peak and Island Lake in Wyoming's Wind River Range. #
Part of the procession at the annual Fair Parade held during the state fair, in Douglas, Wyoming. Paraders included Miss Rodeo Wyoming, Little Miss Wyoming, Douglas High School's band and cheerleaders, members of a Christian motorcycle association, and the University of Wyoming's sports mascot: Cowboy Joe. #
A weathered fence post stands in front of an abandoned ranch building. #
A redhead duck runs across the water on takeoff at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. #
Devils Tower National Monument stands beneath the Milky Way. #
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