Vedauwoo

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Vedauwoo Rocks in winter

Vedauwoo is an area of rocky outcrops (Sherman Granite) located in south-eastern Wyoming, United States, near the city of Laramie. Its name (according to climbing guidebook authors Skip Harper and Rob Kelman) is an anglicized version of the Arapaho word "bito'o'wu" meaning "earth-born". The area is within Medicine Bow - Routt National Forest and includes a day-use picnic area and an overnight campground. Vedauwoo is a popular climbing area. Mountain bikers, anglers, hikers, cross-country skiers, snowshoers, and rock climbers come from all parts of the world to sample the area's natural beauty. Climbers find some of the best wide crack climbs (called "offwidths") known. There are over 900 routes currently on record. Interstate 80 passes just south of the main rock outcroppings and well-marked highway signs indicate the exit to use in order to reach Vedauwoo. An alternative is to drive in from the Happy Jack road that runs between Laramie and Cheyenne.

[edit] Overview

The rock making up Vedauwoo's characteristic hoodoos and outcrops is the 1.4 billion year old Sherman Granite, which represents some of the oldest rock in Wyoming. It is exposed at the surface around Vedauwoo due to the uplift of the Laramie Mountains that began around 70 million years ago. Younger layers of rock and sediment have progressively eroded, and this continues today. The hard granite of vedauwoo is made of large crystals of quartz, orthoclase, plagioclase, and some mica and is more erosion-resistant, resulting in unique, wind and water-sculpted forms. Just east of Vedauwoo, along I-80, spectacular sandstone cliffs are formed of the Permian-age Fountain Formation, which is about 300 million years old. Ancient sand dunes of a broad desert met with the salty waters of a shallow, epicontinental sea, producing beautiful examples of cross-stratification. Fossils of sea urchins, snails, and sea lillies can be found in some of these rocks.

Wildlife abounds in and around Vedauwoo with Wyoming ground squirrels, mule deer, elk, yellow-bellied marmots, least chipmunks, pronghorn, wild turkeys, badgers, prairie dogs, coyotes, and mountain lions all calling the area home. Beavers are found in some of the creeks, where their dams and lodges form cover for a variety of aquatic insects, frogs, and fish. Golden and bald eagles can be seen soaring on the thermals alongside hawks, crows, ravens, turkey vultures, and numerous songbirds. Anglers find brook trout in the streams and ponds but over the past decade or so the populations of these fish have dropped noticeably.

The area surrounding Vedauwoo is quite popular with Wyoming residents, particularly from Cheyenne and Laramie, who enjoy picnicking in the recreation areas near the rocks. Although access to Vedauwoo is free to the public, a fee is required if the parking and camping facilities are going to be used. The roads are dirt and gravel, so drive slowly to avoid chipped windshields, and watch out on the numerous blind curves!