Green River, Wyoming
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Green River is a city in southwestern Wyoming in Sweetwater County. The population was 11,808 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Sweetwater County.
The city is known as being one of the first in the United States to ban door-to-door solicitation; see Green River Ordinance. [1]
The Mayor of Green River is Hank Castillion, who was elected in November 2006.
Contents |
[edit] History
Green River was incorporated in 1868 in what was then the Dakota Territory. The city was the starting point from which John Wesley Powell started his famous expeditions of the Green River, the Colorado River, and the Grand Canyon in the late 1800's. [2] Green River was originally supposed to be a the site of a division point for the Union Pacific Railroad, but when the railroad finally reached the point, officials were surprised to find that a city had already been established there. They moved the division point 12 miles west. [3]
At the time of its incorporation in 1868, Green River had about 2000 residents and permanent adobe buildings were being built. However, when the division point of the railroad was moved west, the city shrank to a mere 101 residents. Just when the city was on the verge of shriveling up, the Black Fork dried up during a drought and the railroad was forced to move the division point back to Green River. The town was officially incorporated under the new laws of Wyoming on May 5, 1891.
[edit] Industry
The Green River Basin contains the world's largest known deposit of trona ore. Soda ash mining from trona veins 900 and 1600 feet deep is a major industrial activity in the area, employing over 2000 persons at five mines. The mining operation is less expensive for production of soda ash in the United States than the synthetic Solvay process, which predominates in the rest of the world.
The five mines are run by these companies:
- FMC Corporation
- OCI Wyoming LP
- General Chemical Corporation
- Solvay Minerals Inc.
- Church and Dwight Company Inc.
The trona in Sweetwater County was created by an ancient body of water known as Lake Gosiute. Over time, the lake shrunk. With the loss of outflows, highly alkaline water (salt brine) began to evaporate, depositing the beds of trona. [4]
[edit] Geography
Green River is located at (41.514189, -109.464926)GR1. The elevation is 6100 feet (1859 m) above sea level.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.3 km² (14.0 mi²). 35.5 km² (13.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (2.28%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 11,808 people, 4,177 households, and 3,212 families residing in the city. The population density was 332.5/km² (861.5/mi²). There were 4,426 housing units at an average density of 124.6/km² (322.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.13% White, 0.27% African American, 1.36% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 4.23% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.21% of the population.
There were 4,177 households out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.22.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.1% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $53,164, and the median income for a family was $59,100. Males had a median income of $51,418 versus $24,306 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,398. About 3.1% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Famous Athletes who have lived in Green River
- Jerramy Stevens, tight-end for the Seattle Seahawks.
- Heather Moody, olympic water polo silver and bronze medalist.
- Adam Archuleta, safety for the St. Louis Rams.
[edit] References
- ^ City of Green River - Railroad Workers Demand Protection of Their Daytime Sleep
- ^ City of Green River - About Green River
- ^ City of Green River - The Railroad Comes to Green River
- ^ http://www.cityofgreenriver.org/pages/161
[edit] External links
- City of Green River
- Green River Chamber of Commerce
- Green River Star newspaper
- Green River Radio Stations
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
 |
State of Wyoming Cheyenne (capital) |
|---|---|
| Topics |
Governors | Geography | Government | Economy | History |
| Regions | |
| Cities |
Casper | Cheyenne | Cody | Evanston | Gillette | Green River | Jackson | Laramie | Rawlins | Riverton | Rock Springs | Sheridan | Worland |
| Counties |
Albany | Big Horn | Campbell | Carbon | Converse | Crook | Fremont | Goshen | Hot Springs | Johnson | Laramie | Lincoln | Natrona | Niobrara | Park | Platte | Sheridan | Sublette | Sweetwater | Teton | Uinta | Washakie | Weston |
