ABSTRACT
Environmental activity in the state will probably take three general directions: developed resources will continue to be used, new resources and new approaches to resource use will be discovered, and greater control of natural hazards will be attained. Wyomingites are likely to extend well into the twenty-first century most of the uses to which they have previously put bedrock, soil, vegetation, topography, drainage systems, weather, and climate. The two factors most responsible for the widespread steppe climate in Wyoming are the high elevation and the long distances from large bodies of water. The Wyoming section of the huge dome, apparently uplifted on two or more occasions, has a variety of landforms. Inhabitants of Wyoming are provided a wide variety of land and water features from which to obtain resources to satisfy their perceived needs and desires. Typical of mountains everywhere, Wyoming’s ranges produce the phenomenon known as the “orographic effect".
