Greybull River

Greybull River
Map
EtymologyWhere the mountain lion sits
Native nameIisbíialawache (Crow)[1]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWyoming
CitiesMeeteetse, WY, Greybull, WY
Physical characteristics
SourceAbsaroka Mountains
 • locationBig Horn Basin, Wyoming
 • coordinates43°52′48″N 109°20′33″W / 43.88000°N 109.34250°W / 43.88000; -109.34250[2]
MouthBig Horn River
 • location
Greybull, Wyoming
 • coordinates
44°28′15″N 108°02′59″W / 44.47083°N 108.04972°W / 44.47083; -108.04972[2]
Length90 mi (140 km)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • rightWood River

The Greybull River is a tributary of the Big Horn River, approximately 90 miles (140 km) long in northern Wyoming in the United States.

The river was reportedly named for a white buffalo that had been seen on its banks. Native Americans consider the appearance of a white buffalo a powerful omen.

The river rises near Francs Peak in the Absaroka Mountains in the southwest corner of the Big Horn Basin. It joins with the Wood River and leaves the mountains near the town of Meeteetse, continuing through the southern parts of Park County and Big Horn County before flowing into the Big Horn River near Greybull. Much of the upper river is considered a top trout stream, hosting the best genetically pure populations of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the region.[3] In 1981, a colony of black-footed ferrets was discovered on the Pitchfork Ranch near Meeteetse. The animal had previously been thought to be extinct.

Flooding of Greybull River near Basin, Wyoming in June 1963, where the peak flow was 19,400 cubic feet per second (550 m3/s).
  1. ^ "Little Big Horn College Library". Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Greybull River, USGS GNIS
  3. ^ Greybull River Basin Archived 2008-12-01 at the Wayback Machine, Nature Conservancy