Name: Bighorn Basin

 

County: Big Horn, Hot Springs, Johnson, Park, Washakie

 

Authority Name: 

 

GNIS Entry

 

Longitude:  1082002W

Latitude: 443000N

 

Legal Description:

 

Elevation: 4354/1327

(ft/m)

 

Feature Type: Basin

 

Origin of Name:

Drainage basin about 135 miles long and 60 miles wide, bounded on the north by the Pryor Mountains, on the west by the Absaroka Range, on the south by the Owl Creek Mountains and the Bridger Mountains, and on the east by the Bighorn Mountains. It includes several smaller basins.

Source: Decisions, 1962

 

The name comes from an Indian word “ahsahta” meaning horned sheep. They were found in large numbers among the rocks and precipices of the area.

Source: WPA

 

The range of mountains ... took their name from the sheep which were found in them. The Indian (Absaroka) name of the mountains was ahsahta,meaning "big head."

Source: Gannett 

 

Other Names: Big Horn Basin

 

Alternative Spellings:

 

History:

 

Stories:

 

Maps:

1:24000 Quadrangle: Otto

 

Newspapers:

 

More Information: 

 

Pictures: