Great Divide Basin

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Bluffs in eastern section of the Great Divide Basin

The Great Divide Basin or Great Divide Closed Basin is a 10,000 km² endorheic drainage basin in south central Wyoming, United States, located between the Atlantic and Pacific drainage basins. North and south of it, the water divide is defined by the Continental Divide. It is formed by a geologic anticline.

Though not without some grasses, the occasional shrub, and even small trees in some ravines, the land is dominated by numerous sand dunes, bluffs and alkali flats due to a combination of low precipitation and a high evaporation rate. Its area is 2.5 million acres (10,000 km²) and its mean altitude is over 6,000 feet (1,800 m). It is under the supervision of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior which manages rangeland and other multiple-use lands that have not been designated as National Parks or a National Monuments.

Location map of Great Divide Basin, shown in pink.

Many birds are found in the basin, such as the sage grouse and pheasant. Mammals include pronghorn antelope, mule deer, wild or feral horses, and the occasional elk. No major towns or cities are located in the basin, which has a human population of less than 500. Wamsutter is the only incorporated settlement.

The basin is considered one of the more promising locations for the mining of uranium and many oil and natural gas wells are found in the basin with more expected to be built. There is an ongoing debate between those that wish to utilize the resources within the basin and those that wish to see the basin become either a National Monument or a designated U.S. Wilderness Area.

Interstate 80 bisects the basin east to west and U.S. Highway 287 heading north from Rawlins, Wyoming traverses the eastern regions of the area.