The Americana Series Monthly Challenge – December 2022: Wyoming
KeskusteluMystery and Suspense Extra!
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Each month, we will visit a different state in the United States of America for the Monthly Reading Challenge in the Mystery & Suspense Extra! Group. This month, we head west to– Wyoming.
The Americana Series Monthly Challenge – December 2022: Wyoming
History
Wyoming, is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. With a population of 576,851 in the 2020 United States census, Wyoming is the least populous state despite being the 10th largest by area, with the second-lowest population density after Alaska. The state capital and most populous city is Cheyenne, which had an estimated population of 63,957 in 2018.
Wyoming's western half is covered mostly by the ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the eastern half of the state is high-elevation prairie called the High Plains. It is drier and windier than the rest of the country, being split between semi-arid and continental climates with greater temperature extremes. Almost half of the land in Wyoming is owned by the federal government, generally protected for public uses. The state ranks 6th by area and fifth by proportion of a state's land owned by the federal government. Federal lands include two national parks (Grand Teton and Yellowstone), two national recreation areas, two national monuments, several national forests, historic sites, fish hatcheries, and wildlife refuges.
Indigenous peoples inhabited the region for thousands of years. Historic and current federally recognized tribes include the Arapaho, Crow, Lakota, and Shoshone. During European exploration, the Spanish Empire was the first to "claim" southern Wyoming. With Mexican independence, it became part of that republic. After defeat in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded this territory to the U.S. in 1848.
The region was named "Wyoming" in a bill introduced to Congress in 1865 to provide a temporary government for the territory of Wyoming. It had been used earlier by colonists for the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania, and is derived from the Lenape language Munsee word xwé:wamənk, meaning "at the big river flat".
Bills for Wyoming Territory's admission to the union were introduced in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives in December 1889. On March 27, 1890, the House passed the bill and President Benjamin Harrison signed Wyoming's statehood bill; Wyoming became the 44th state in the union.
Historically, European Americans farmed and ranched here, with shepherds and cattle ranchers in conflict over lands. Today Wyoming's economy is largely based on tourism and the extraction of minerals such as coal, natural gas, oil, and trona. Agricultural commodities include barley, hay, livestock, sugar beets, wheat, and wool. It was the first state to allow women the right to vote and the right to assume elected office, as well as the first state to elect a female governor. Due to this part of its history, its main nickname is "The Equality State" and its official state motto is "Equal Rights". It has been a politically conservative state since the 1950s. The Republican presidential nominee has carried the state in every election since 1968.
Geography
Wyoming It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the south. Wyoming is one of only three states (the others being Colorado and Utah) to have borders defined by only "straight" lines. Due to surveying inaccuracies during the 19th century, Wyoming's legal border deviates from the true latitude and longitude lines by up to half of a mile (0.8 km) in some spots, especially in the mountainous region along the 45th parallel.
The Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. The state is a great plateau broken by many mountain ranges. Surface elevations range from the summit of Gannett Peak in the Wind River Mountain Range, at 13,804 feet (4,207 m), to the Belle Fourche River valley in the state's northeast corner, at 3,125 feet (952 m). The Teton Range in the northwest extends for 50 miles (80 km), part of which is included in Grand Teton National Park. The park includes the Grand Teton, the second-highest peak in the state.
The Continental Divide spans north–south across the central portion of the state. Rivers east of the divide drain into the Missouri River Basin and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. The Continental Divide forks in the south central part of the state in an area known as the Great Divide Basin where water that precipitates onto or flows into it cannot reach an ocean—it all sinks into the soil and eventually evaporates.
Several rivers begin in or flow through the state, including the Yellowstone River, Bighorn River, Green River, and the Snake River.
Fun Facts
Most of Yellowstone, the nation’s first National Park, lies within the borders of Wyoming. Established in 1872, 44 years before there was a National Park Service, the park hosts nearly 4 million visitors each year. People come from all over the world to get a glimpse of Yellowstone’s majesty and its unique ecosystem, which is comprised of almost 300 species of birds, 67 species of mammals, 16 species of fish, five species of amphibians, and five species of reptiles.
Old Faithful, the infamous cone geyser located in Yellowstone, got its name because of how dependable its eruptions are. The geyser erupts about every hour and a half, on average, and more than 90 percent of predictions about its eruptions are, according to the Park Service, accurate within a ten-minute window. Yellowstone National Park has more geysers than any other geyser field in the world.
Bison are the official state mammal of Wyoming, but the relationship between the animals and their human neighbors is complicated. According to the National Park Service, there are more people hurt every year at Yellowstone by bison than by bears. Because conservation efforts have been so successful, there's also an initiative to keep the bison population down: this year, the goal is to capture and kill between 600 and 900 of the animals.
The mythical creature known as the jackalope was "born" in the 1930s when, in Douglas, Wyoming, Douglas Herrick and his brother Ralph decided to add antlers to a dead jackrabbit they had taxidermied. They sold the creatures—and their tall tale—to anyone willing to buy. You can still get a jackalope hunting license in the city.
Since the mid-1800s, Wyoming has been an important destination for fossil hunters. Dinosaur bones were so plentiful in one area of southeast Wyoming that in the late 19th century, an enterprising local used bone fragments to construct a cabin (it still stands today). Wyoming is also one of only a handful of states with an official state dinosaur. An elementary school chose Triceratops to represent the state back in 1994.
Wyoming enjoys a solid reputation as a coal-producing state. The two largest coal mines in the US are North Antelope Rochelle Mine (the largest coal mine in the world, located in Campbell County) and Black Thunder mine near Wright, Wyoming. The first coal mine in Wyoming started operations in 1867 and according to official figures, Wyoming had a peak production of 3 million tons of coal per week in 1994. (approximately 40% of the country's domestic supply)
The country’s first female governor was also elected in Wyoming. After Nellie Tayloe Ross's husband, Governor William Bradford Ross, passed away, she was elected to finish his term. She served as the 14th governor of the state from 1925 to 1927, and was later appointed by FDR to serve as the director of the United States Mint. She is still the only female governor that the state has ever had.
In 1881, the infamous outlaw Big Nose George Parrot was lynched. An eccentric doctor had the criminal’s skin tanned and transformed into shoes. That doctor, John Eugene Osborne, eventually became Governor of WY and served as Secretary of State under the Woodrow Wilson administration.
Cody, Wyoming is named after a colorful character called William Frederick Cody. This man is also known as “Buffalo Bill”. He got this nickname in recognition of his buffalo hunting skills. William Cody allegedly killed over 4,200 buffaloes. Cody supplied the animals as meat to workers of the Kansas Pacific Railroad Company.
The people of Wyoming love to read and you have the evidence right here. The Laramie County Library System is the oldest organized library system in the USA. This library has been in existence since 1886 and it is still going strong.
Notable Residents
Butch Cassidy whose name is really Robert Leroy Parker served as a ranch hand in Wyoming, but he was convicted in 1894 for buying a stolen horse in the city of Lander. His counterpart, The Sundance Kid also known as Harry Alzono Longabaugh went to jail for stealing a horse. He was only 15 years old at the time. Legend has it, his nickname came from the township of Sundance.
The state has given us a number of mystery authors such as CJ Box, Craig Johnson, William Kent Krueger, Mary Billiter and Pamela Fagan Hutchins. Other authors include Annie Proulx, Steven W. Horn, Mary Fitchner, Karen Schutte, Lee Ann Roripaugh and James E. Meacham.
In honor of WYOMING, read a Mystery/Suspense book (any sub-genre will do!) that satisfies one or more of the following:
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "River," "Mountain," "Faithful," "Library," or "Equal" in the title OR has a Cowboy, a River, a Mountain or a Dinosaur;
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Wyoming OR includes a character who works on a ranch OR has a female politician OR takes place in a library/bookstore; and
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in WYOMING.
Happy Reading ❤
The Americana Series Monthly Challenge – December 2022: Wyoming
History
Wyoming, is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. With a population of 576,851 in the 2020 United States census, Wyoming is the least populous state despite being the 10th largest by area, with the second-lowest population density after Alaska. The state capital and most populous city is Cheyenne, which had an estimated population of 63,957 in 2018.
Wyoming's western half is covered mostly by the ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the eastern half of the state is high-elevation prairie called the High Plains. It is drier and windier than the rest of the country, being split between semi-arid and continental climates with greater temperature extremes. Almost half of the land in Wyoming is owned by the federal government, generally protected for public uses. The state ranks 6th by area and fifth by proportion of a state's land owned by the federal government. Federal lands include two national parks (Grand Teton and Yellowstone), two national recreation areas, two national monuments, several national forests, historic sites, fish hatcheries, and wildlife refuges.
Indigenous peoples inhabited the region for thousands of years. Historic and current federally recognized tribes include the Arapaho, Crow, Lakota, and Shoshone. During European exploration, the Spanish Empire was the first to "claim" southern Wyoming. With Mexican independence, it became part of that republic. After defeat in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded this territory to the U.S. in 1848.
The region was named "Wyoming" in a bill introduced to Congress in 1865 to provide a temporary government for the territory of Wyoming. It had been used earlier by colonists for the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania, and is derived from the Lenape language Munsee word xwé:wamənk, meaning "at the big river flat".
Bills for Wyoming Territory's admission to the union were introduced in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives in December 1889. On March 27, 1890, the House passed the bill and President Benjamin Harrison signed Wyoming's statehood bill; Wyoming became the 44th state in the union.
Historically, European Americans farmed and ranched here, with shepherds and cattle ranchers in conflict over lands. Today Wyoming's economy is largely based on tourism and the extraction of minerals such as coal, natural gas, oil, and trona. Agricultural commodities include barley, hay, livestock, sugar beets, wheat, and wool. It was the first state to allow women the right to vote and the right to assume elected office, as well as the first state to elect a female governor. Due to this part of its history, its main nickname is "The Equality State" and its official state motto is "Equal Rights". It has been a politically conservative state since the 1950s. The Republican presidential nominee has carried the state in every election since 1968.
Geography
Wyoming It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the south. Wyoming is one of only three states (the others being Colorado and Utah) to have borders defined by only "straight" lines. Due to surveying inaccuracies during the 19th century, Wyoming's legal border deviates from the true latitude and longitude lines by up to half of a mile (0.8 km) in some spots, especially in the mountainous region along the 45th parallel.
The Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. The state is a great plateau broken by many mountain ranges. Surface elevations range from the summit of Gannett Peak in the Wind River Mountain Range, at 13,804 feet (4,207 m), to the Belle Fourche River valley in the state's northeast corner, at 3,125 feet (952 m). The Teton Range in the northwest extends for 50 miles (80 km), part of which is included in Grand Teton National Park. The park includes the Grand Teton, the second-highest peak in the state.
The Continental Divide spans north–south across the central portion of the state. Rivers east of the divide drain into the Missouri River Basin and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. The Continental Divide forks in the south central part of the state in an area known as the Great Divide Basin where water that precipitates onto or flows into it cannot reach an ocean—it all sinks into the soil and eventually evaporates.
Several rivers begin in or flow through the state, including the Yellowstone River, Bighorn River, Green River, and the Snake River.
Fun Facts
Most of Yellowstone, the nation’s first National Park, lies within the borders of Wyoming. Established in 1872, 44 years before there was a National Park Service, the park hosts nearly 4 million visitors each year. People come from all over the world to get a glimpse of Yellowstone’s majesty and its unique ecosystem, which is comprised of almost 300 species of birds, 67 species of mammals, 16 species of fish, five species of amphibians, and five species of reptiles.
Old Faithful, the infamous cone geyser located in Yellowstone, got its name because of how dependable its eruptions are. The geyser erupts about every hour and a half, on average, and more than 90 percent of predictions about its eruptions are, according to the Park Service, accurate within a ten-minute window. Yellowstone National Park has more geysers than any other geyser field in the world.
Bison are the official state mammal of Wyoming, but the relationship between the animals and their human neighbors is complicated. According to the National Park Service, there are more people hurt every year at Yellowstone by bison than by bears. Because conservation efforts have been so successful, there's also an initiative to keep the bison population down: this year, the goal is to capture and kill between 600 and 900 of the animals.
The mythical creature known as the jackalope was "born" in the 1930s when, in Douglas, Wyoming, Douglas Herrick and his brother Ralph decided to add antlers to a dead jackrabbit they had taxidermied. They sold the creatures—and their tall tale—to anyone willing to buy. You can still get a jackalope hunting license in the city.
Since the mid-1800s, Wyoming has been an important destination for fossil hunters. Dinosaur bones were so plentiful in one area of southeast Wyoming that in the late 19th century, an enterprising local used bone fragments to construct a cabin (it still stands today). Wyoming is also one of only a handful of states with an official state dinosaur. An elementary school chose Triceratops to represent the state back in 1994.
Wyoming enjoys a solid reputation as a coal-producing state. The two largest coal mines in the US are North Antelope Rochelle Mine (the largest coal mine in the world, located in Campbell County) and Black Thunder mine near Wright, Wyoming. The first coal mine in Wyoming started operations in 1867 and according to official figures, Wyoming had a peak production of 3 million tons of coal per week in 1994. (approximately 40% of the country's domestic supply)
The country’s first female governor was also elected in Wyoming. After Nellie Tayloe Ross's husband, Governor William Bradford Ross, passed away, she was elected to finish his term. She served as the 14th governor of the state from 1925 to 1927, and was later appointed by FDR to serve as the director of the United States Mint. She is still the only female governor that the state has ever had.
In 1881, the infamous outlaw Big Nose George Parrot was lynched. An eccentric doctor had the criminal’s skin tanned and transformed into shoes. That doctor, John Eugene Osborne, eventually became Governor of WY and served as Secretary of State under the Woodrow Wilson administration.
Cody, Wyoming is named after a colorful character called William Frederick Cody. This man is also known as “Buffalo Bill”. He got this nickname in recognition of his buffalo hunting skills. William Cody allegedly killed over 4,200 buffaloes. Cody supplied the animals as meat to workers of the Kansas Pacific Railroad Company.
The people of Wyoming love to read and you have the evidence right here. The Laramie County Library System is the oldest organized library system in the USA. This library has been in existence since 1886 and it is still going strong.
Notable Residents
Butch Cassidy whose name is really Robert Leroy Parker served as a ranch hand in Wyoming, but he was convicted in 1894 for buying a stolen horse in the city of Lander. His counterpart, The Sundance Kid also known as Harry Alzono Longabaugh went to jail for stealing a horse. He was only 15 years old at the time. Legend has it, his nickname came from the township of Sundance.
The state has given us a number of mystery authors such as CJ Box, Craig Johnson, William Kent Krueger, Mary Billiter and Pamela Fagan Hutchins. Other authors include Annie Proulx, Steven W. Horn, Mary Fitchner, Karen Schutte, Lee Ann Roripaugh and James E. Meacham.
In honor of WYOMING, read a Mystery/Suspense book (any sub-genre will do!) that satisfies one or more of the following:
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "River," "Mountain," "Faithful," "Library," or "Equal" in the title OR has a Cowboy, a River, a Mountain or a Dinosaur;
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Wyoming OR includes a character who works on a ranch OR has a female politician OR takes place in a library/bookstore; and
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in WYOMING.
Happy Reading ❤
2bhabeck
Brenda's Americana Challenge - December 2022: Wyoming
0 of 3 Complete
In honor of WYOMING, read a Mystery/Suspense book (any sub-genre will do!) that satisfies one or more of the following:
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "River," "Mountain," "Faithful," "Library," or "Equal" in the title OR has a Cowboy, a River, a Mountain or a Dinosaur;
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Wyoming OR includes a character who works on a ranch OR has a female politician OR takes place in a library/bookstore; and
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in WYOMING.
0 of 3 Complete
In honor of WYOMING, read a Mystery/Suspense book (any sub-genre will do!) that satisfies one or more of the following:
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "River," "Mountain," "Faithful," "Library," or "Equal" in the title OR has a Cowboy, a River, a Mountain or a Dinosaur;
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Wyoming OR includes a character who works on a ranch OR has a female politician OR takes place in a library/bookstore; and
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in WYOMING.
3Carol420
🎄- ★
3/3 - Done 12/22
Carol Visits the Library in Laramie County, Wyoming (I believe I can find something to read:)
🎄1. A Mystery/Suspense book with "River," "Mountain," "Faithful," "Library," or "Equal" in the title OR has a Cowboy, a River, a Mountain or a Dinosaur;
Dark Mountain - Jeff Carson - 4★
🎄2. A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Wyoming OR includes a character who works on a ranch OR has a female politician OR takes place in a library/bookstore; and
Winter Cowboy - RJ Scott - 4★
🎄3. A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in WYOMING
Everything Has Changed - Nova Westman - 4★
7Sergeirocks
The Ashes of London - Andrew Taylor 3.5★s (Picture of the River Thames on front cover)
Savage Run - C. J. Box 4.5★s (Takes place in Wyoming)
Speedy Death - Gladys Mitchell 4★s (Author’s initials in WYOMING)
Savage Run - C. J. Box 4.5★s (Takes place in Wyoming)
Speedy Death - Gladys Mitchell 4★s (Author’s initials in WYOMING)
9Sergeirocks
🎄 MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! 🎄
11Andrew-theQM
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "River," "Mountain," "Faithful," "Library," or "Equal" in the title OR has a Cowboy, a River, a Mountain or a Dinosaur;
✔️ Devil’s Way by Robert Bryndza ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Wyoming OR includes a character who works on a ranch OR has a female politician OR takes place in a library/bookstore; and
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in WYOMING.
✔️ Devil’s Way by Robert Bryndza ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Wyoming OR includes a character who works on a ranch OR has a female politician OR takes place in a library/bookstore; and
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in WYOMING.
13EdwardArscott
Tämä käyttäjä on poistettu roskaamisen vuoksi.
14cindysprocket
Glad I saved my The Eagle Catcher by Margaret Coel. Takes place on the Wyoming's Wind River Arapahos Reservation.
15Andrew-theQM
Only got 1 book this month as hardly read any Mystery and Suspense books.
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