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. (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." (Gannett, 1905)
County:
Big Horn; Washakie; Park; Hot Springs
Feature Category:
Land Features
Alternate Spellings:
Big Horn Basin
More Reading:
Resources of the Bighorn Basin : Wyoming Geological Association, forty-seventh guidebook, 1996. Bowen, Charles E. [Casper, Wyoming] : Wyoming Geological Association, [1996?]; In the shadow of the Rockies : a photographic history of the pioneer experience in Wyoming's Big Horn Basin. Kahin, Sharon and Laurie Rufe. Powell, Wyo. : Northwest Community College, c1983.; Stories of early days in Wyoming : Big Horn Basin. Walker, Tacetta B.; Casper, Wyo. : Prairie Pub. Co., c1936.; From beaver to oil : a century in the development of Wyoming's Big Horn Basin. Wasden, David J. Cheyenne, Wyo. : Pioneer Printing & Stationery Co. [printer], c1973.; History of the Big Horn Basin : with stories of early days, sketches of pioneers, and writings of the author. Welch, Charles A. Salt Lake City : Printed by the Deseret News Press, 1940.; Wyoming's Big Horn Basin to 1901 : a late frontier. Woods, L. Milton. Spokane, Wash. : Arthur H. Clarke Co., 1997.
Description:
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. (Decisions, 1962)
