Rock Art and Oil Wells
by Gene Gade
WE ARE IN COTTONWOOD CANYON NEAR HAMILTON DOME IN HOT SPRINGS COUNTY, WYOMING. LIKE MANY PLACES IN THE WEST, THE USE OF THE RESOURCES HERE HAS CHANGED OVER TIME.
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, NATIVE AMERICAN HUNTERS USED THIS CANYON AS A CAMP SITE IN THE WINTER OR WHEN THEY WERE HUNTING LARGE GAME ANIMALS IN THE BIGHORN BASIN OR OWL CREEK MOUNTAINS.
THEY ALSO PRODUCED ROCK ART LIKE THIS, POSSIBLY AT A PART OF CEREMONIES INTENDED TO ENCOURAGE SUCCESS IN THE HUNT, OR TO RECORD, CELEBRATE AND GIVE THANKS FOR THAT SUCCESS. THEY CLEARLY SPENT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT HERE AND FELT THAT THIS AREA HAD THE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THEM.
HAMILTON DOME IS ALSO ONE OF WYOMING’S OLDEST AND MOST PRODUCTIVE OIL FIELDS. EARLY IN THE 20TH CENTURY, GEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED THAT OIL AND NATURAL GAS TEND TO MOVE UP FROM LOWER STRATA AND GET TRAPPED IN PLACES LIKE THIS WHERE THE ROCK LAYERS ARE BOWED UP. SEVERAL OF THE MAJOR OIL FIELDS IN WYOMING , INCLUDING HAMILTON DOME, THE RAWLINS UPLIFT, BAIROIL, THE GAS HILLS AND THE FAMOUS TEAPOT DOME , EXIST BECAUSE OF SUCH UPLIFTS.
WHETHER IT’S THE WILD LIFE THAT PROVIDED OUR ANCESTORS WITH A LIVING AND WE STILL CHERISH, OR THE FOSSIL FUELS THAT CREATE OUR CURRENT ECONOMY AND TAX BASE, WYOMING IS A PLACE THAT CONTAINS ABUNDANT NATURAL RESOURCES THAT MUST BE USED WITH CARE. I’M GENE GADE FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE.