Sinks Canyon State Park
The Sinks Canyon State Park is an elongated State Park on a water canyon in the Wind River Mountains. It is located 10 km southwest of Lander on Wyoming Highway 131 in Fremont County of the U.S. state of Wyoming. In the southwest of the state parks, the Shoshone National Forest adjoins.
The Popo Agie River Middle leaving halfway through the canyon his old creek bed and sinks loud gurgling in a rock opening ( " The Sinks "). After a distance of about 400 m distance the water enters a source pot back to the surface ( " The Rise "). For many years it was not clear whether this is in fact the same watercourse. Only 1983 were from the United States Geological Survey and the park staff dyeing tests performed with rhodamine and found that the water needed over two hours for the underground passage and the source pot there is a larger bed, so more water exits as sinking into the swallow hole. In this area, the river crosses a karst layer of the Madison Limestone formation. In the soluble calcareous rocks have been formed by erosion processes cracks and crevices where water can seep, but they are too narrow to examine their course. Underground chambers, cavities or lakes are not excluded, but so far only speculation.
On an annual average, the entire water flow sinks with an average of 4200 liters per second in the underground, only floods with more than 14,000 liters per second is the old river bed than overflow. The exact age is unknown, probably by glacial activity have uncovered the limescale and continued the waters of the melting glacier erosion process mechanically and chemically. The native Indian tribes are the swallow holes for several generations known, the first white trappers appeared early in the 19th century.
In the gorge there are three different habitats differ, the shady northern slopes with dense trees on Douglas fir and Limb timber, the dry south-facing slopes with a world dominated by juniper and sagebrush shrub society and the watery fringes with aspen, willow and apple berries and Geranium viscosissimum, columbines and Mimulus brevipes. Golden eagle, bighorn sheep and marmots can be observed in the park. In Quelltopf and downstream rainbow trout and brook trout have a natural occurrence.
On the sip hole is a visitor center and explanatory panels on Quelltopf a viewing platform. In State Park, there are several hiking trails, picnic sites and three campgrounds.