Willow Creek, Wyoming Range – In June 2017, forest officials accidentally found that a new lake had been formed when a remote landslide dammed the Willow Creek Drainage in the Wyoming Range south of Jackson, Wyoming.
It is unclear when the landslide was triggered. A Bridger Teton National Forest firefighter spotted the landslide while searching for wildfires from an airplane. The location of the landslide is about 12 miles from the Bryan Flats Trailhead and 3 or 4 miles “from Pickle Pass and the divide between the Hoback and Greys rivers” (JHNewsAndGuide.com).
Outfitter Dustin Child of Willow Creek Horseback Rides rode his horse to the landslide area. He claimed that “the landslide was as high as 200 feet in places, covered 1/4 mile of the Willow Creek canyon and formed a 15- to 20-acre lake that’s probably 30 or 40 feet deep.” If the “new lake up Willow Creek holds it will be the first new landslide-created body of water on the Bridger-Teton since 2011” (JHNewsAndGuide.com)..
KingFM.com is hosting a poll to see what the brand new lake should be called. Cast your vote!
The Wyoming Range is located in west-central Wyoming. The highest peak in the range is Wyoming Peak at 11,383′. It is part of the Bridger-Teton National Forest and is mostly managed by the US Forest Service. Learn more about the Wyoming Range on Wikipedia.
