Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #2
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #3
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #4
Turtle Rock North Pools
What Can We Learn from the Ponds in the Southern Laramie Range?
For the purposes of this web site, the Southern Laramie Range comprises the Pole Mountain unit of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest southeast of Laramie. The National Forest lands of the Pole Mountain unit lie generally south of the North Branch of Lodgepole Creek, northeast of I-80, and west of the boundary between Albany and Laramie counties. This area is a rectangle (it follows section lines) with a few sections cut out of the southwestern part along I-80. The length of the northern boundary is 14 km (9 miles), the southern boundary 9.5 km (6 miles), and the eastern boundary 17.5 km (11 miles). This part of the Laramie Range is also known as the Sherman Mountains.
Elevations in the Southern Laramie Range vary from 2,300 m (7,550′) (e.g., Upper North Crow Reservoir on the eastern boundary) to 9,066′ (2,760 m) at the Leg vertical azimuth benchmark. Paradoxically, a broad area of gentle topography above 2,600 m adjacent to the Lincoln Summit rest area on I-80 gives way to much more rugged topography at lower elevations to the south and east.
Mean Annual Precipitation according to the Wyoming Climate Atlas by the Water Resources Data System and State Climate Office at http://www.wrds.uwyo.edu/sco/climateatlas/precipitation.html, Parameter-Elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model, PRISM, with 1971-2000 data at very widely spaced weather stations (I have eyeballed the values from a very small scale map with 11 precipitation bins marked with indistinct colors and further obscured by a shaded relief base map):
21″-25″ (53-64 cm)
The Southern Laramie Range once had, and may still have, extensive groves of ponderosa and lodgepole pines. By 2010 though, many pines had been killed by beetles. Sagebrush or grass and forbs dominate the flatter terrain. Aspen occurs near the springs and willows along the creeks.
By definition, the Southern Laramie Range is public land. However, there are 2 small parcels of private land adjacent to the northern boundary of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. The Lincoln Summit and Vedauwoo exits of I-80 lead to well traveled non-paved roads. The Happy Jack road (Wyoming 210) between Laramie and Cheyenne is paved and goes through the middle of the area.
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1 (Laramie Ranger District, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest)
___This map is a screenshot of The National Map (Go to The National Map). The U.S. Geological Survey generally does not copyright or charge for its data or reports (unless printed). A pond location is indicated by an “X”, which corresponds to the coordinates given in the data spreadsheet. Labels in quotations are from 7.5-minute topographic quadrangles.
___Red lines are the U. S. National Grid with a spacing of 1,000 m and intersection labels consisting of the UTM zone (e.g., 11S, 12T), a 2-letter 100-km square designation (e.g., LC, XN), and a 4-digit number. The first 2 digits of the number represent the 1,000-meter Easting and the second 2 digits the 1,000-meter Northing, as seen in the example Easting and Northing. Unlike latitude and longitude, the National Grid is rectilinear on a flat map, the units of abscissa and ordinate have equal lengths, and the units (meters) are measurable on the ground with a tape or by pacing.
___Gray shading represents private land as traced from the PAD-US 2.0 – Federal Fee Managers layer of The National Map. Other lands are public.
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1 is on Turtle Rock 23 km (14 miles) southeast of Laramie. Turtle Rock is a steep-sided knob of granite which has a flattened U-shape that opens to the south and is approximately 1,100 m (3,610′) across. Maximum relief is about 120 m (390′). Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1 is high on the knob near the southern end of the west limb of the U. The middle of the U is Vedauwoo Glen and has a picnic area. The area is frequented by rock climbers.
Rock pools are too small to show on the 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle and are not visible on the USGS imagery of The National Map. However, the steep topography suggests the pond location on the Topographic Map of Turtle Rock Southwest Pools and Turtle Rock North Pools above and the coordinates in the data spreadsheet (on the Data page) are not off by more than about 50 m (165′).
The obvious route is to take the Vedauwoo exit off I-80 about 6 miles south of Lincoln Summit. Turn east and follow National Forest road 700 a little over 1 mile to the turn-off to the Vedauwoo Campground. Parking is very limited within Vedauwoo Glen but is available along the roads near the campground.
Elevation: 2,610 m (8,562′)
May 20, 1989
My thanks to Todd Jarvis for leading me to this and other rock pools. Although climbers like to play on the steep parts, there are easier routes that don’t require technical skills. We passed 2 pools without fairy shrimp before we got to this one.
- About 2 m across; depth 30 cm.
- Water clear; 13 C.
- Abundant pale orange fairy shrimp 10-15 mm long; a few females have eggs.
- Other animals not noted.
Specimens were identified as Branchinecta lindahli by DB (archive #DB-939). In a later August 13, 1991 letter, DB hypothesized that this is not B. lindahli but a previously unrecognized species. That belief was reiterated more strongly in an August 2, 1992 letter. Rogers (2006) identified these fairy shrimp as the new species Branchinecta constricta after DB died.
May 17, 1992
Another trip with Todd to look for fairy shrimp.
- Size and depth not estimated this time.
- Water clear.
- Rare fairy shrimp about 12 mm; eggs not noted.
- Other animals not noted.
August 3, 2007
Southeastern Wyoming got a lot of rain in late July. This rock pool and many others are brim full.
- Size and depth not estimated.
- Water clear.
- Pale brownish-gray fairy shrimp about 10 mm long; eggs not noted.
- Other animals not noted.
My notes say I found fairy shrimp in 3 rock pools on the southwestern knob of Turtle Rock and I am pretty sure one of those is Pool #1. I don’t know if the others were pools #2, #3, #4, or different ones. Consequently, I have not added 2007 entries for any other Turtle Rock Southwest rock pools. I saw one rock pool with very small backswimmers and no fairy shrimp.
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #2 (Laramie Ranger District, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest)
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1 map
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #2 is on the knob near the southern end of the west limb of the U of Turtle Rock and about 30 m (100′) northwest of Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1. Due to the proximity and uncertain location of Pool #1, Pool #2 has the same coordinates in the data spreadsheet (on the Data page).
For access, see Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1.
Elevation: 2,610 m (8,562′)
May 20, 1989
My thanks to Todd Jarvis for leading me to these rock pools. This pool is smaller and shallower than Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1 but WIDLA.
- 0.5 m x 1.5 m; depth 6 cm.
- Water clear.
- Dark green fairy shrimp about 20 mm long; most females have eggs.
- Other animals not noted.
Specimens were identified as Branchinecta lindahli by DB (archive #DB-940). In a later August 13, 1991 letter, DB hypothesized that this is not B. lindahli but a previously unrecognized species. That belief was reiterated more strongly in an August 2, 1992 letter. Rogers (2006) identified these fairy shrimp as the new species Branchinecta constricta after DB died.
May 17, 1992
Another trip with Todd to look for fairy shrimp.
- Size and depth not estimated this time.
- Water clear.
- Lots of pale orange fairy shrimp about 5 mm.
- Other animals not noted.
On the 1989 visit, the fairy shrimp in this rock pool were larger than those in Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1 but this time they are smaller. Makes you wonder what the hatching cues are.
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #3 (Laramie Ranger District, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest)
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1 map
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #3 is on the knob near the southern end of the west limb of the U of Turtle Rock and about 50 m (165′) east-northeast of Pool #1. Due to the proximity and uncertain location of Pool #1, Pool #3 has the same coordinates in the data spreadsheet (on the Data page).
For access, see Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1.
Elevation: 2,610 m (8,562′)
May 17, 1992
Chilly and no tourists yet so a good day to look for fairy shrimp with Todd.
- About 1 m across; depth 5 cm.
- Water clear with green tint.
- Lots of fairy shrimp with wide range of sizes from 5 mm to 15 mm, the larger ones are greenish-gray while the smaller ones are pale gray or pale orange; a few females have eggs.
- Other animals not noted.
It’s possible that this is one of the rock pools that we walked by in May 1989 that didn’t have fairy shrimp then.
In an August 2, 1992 letter, DB indicated that these specimens are an unrecognized species similar to Branchinecta lindahli, like those in Pools #1 and #2. Rogers (2006) identified these fairy shrimp as the new species Branchinecta constricta after DB died.
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #4 (Laramie Ranger District, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest)
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1 map
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #4 is on the knob near the southern end of the west limb of the U of Turtle Rock and about 20 m (65′) west of Pool #1. Due to the proximity and uncertain location of Pool #1, Pool #4 has the same coordinates in the data spreadsheet (on the Data page).
For access, see Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1.
Elevation: 2,610 m (8,562′)
May 17, 1992
My thanks to Todd Jarvis for leading me to these rock pools. Water is only about 50 cm across in a bowl that is 2 m across. 1992 has been unusually dry so far. I’ve already seen a dry “Coyote Lake” and Bull Canyon Pond in the Antelope Hills and a dry “Lost Creek Lake” in the Great Divide Basin.
- About 0.5 m across; depth 3 cm.
- Water clear with green tint.
- Lots of fairy shrimp about 15 mm, mostly pale orange but many females and some males are green; some females have eggs.
- Other animals not noted.
I never made a sketch map of the southwest rock pools. As for Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #3, it’s possible that this is one of the rock pools that we walked by in May 1989 that didn’t have fairy shrimp then.
In an August 2, 1992 letter, DB indicated that these specimens are an unrecognized species similar to Branchinecta lindahli, like those in Pools #1 and #2. Rogers (2006) identified these fairy shrimp as the new species Branchinecta constricta after DB died.
Turtle Rock North Pools (Laramie Ranger District, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest)
Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1 map
Turtle Rock North Pools are near the northern knob of Turtle Rock at the base of the U and 380 m (1,250′), more or less, northeast of Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1. There may be a dozen or so but I didn’t try to keep track.
Individual rock pools aren’t on the 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle and are not visible on the USGS imagery of The National Map. Turtle Rock North Pools may be spread over an area of 200 m (660′) along the crest and 75 m (250′) wide.
For access, see Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1.
Elevation: 2,605 m (8,545′)
August 3, 2007
My thanks to Sheri Culver, who told me that Calvin Culver had seen something in the rock pools in the northern part of Turtle Rock in 2005. It took a while but I finally found time and it turned out to be a good time to visit. Like the rock pools near the southwestern knob, those near the northern knob are full and even overflowing. The wind is so strong now, it’s hard to see what’s in the water. The notes below summarize my scanty observations for all the pools I looked in.
- Sizes and depths not estimated.
- Water clear.
- Pale brownish gray fairy shrimp about 10 mm long but at least one dark greenish-gray female about 18 mm; eggs not noted.
- Other animals not noted.
What Can We Learn from the Ponds in the Southern Laramie Range?
The southern Laramie Range in June. Although not relevant to fairy shrimp, this photograph illustrates the general character of the southern Laramie Range with low forested hills and grassy prairie in addition to fields of sagebrush and rocky knobs.
There are numerous rock pools on Turtle Rock in the southern Laramie Range and many, if not most, of them have fairy shrimp.
Rock pools are not the only potential fairy shrimp habitat in the Southern Laramie Range. For example, there are off-stream ponds on the flat lands east of Sherman Peak and west of “Upper North Crow Reservoir” shown on the Medicine Bow – Routt National Forest recreation map and on topographic maps. Ponds along the small streams are not good bets. I never found fairy shrimp in the beaver ponds I looked in.
Fairy shrimp in the rock pools on Turtle Rock hatch year after year. In Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1, fairy shrimp were observed on all 3 visits in May 1989, May 1992, and August 2007.
The presence of fairy shrimp in several rock pools, their apparently reliable hatching history, and the clear water makes the Turtle Rock Southwest Pools and the Turtle Rock North Pools good bets for finding fairy shrimp. The recent precipitation history of Laramie or Cheyenne should be checked to ensure that the rock pools are likely to have water. It would probably be a good idea to wait a week after a summer thunderstorm to give the fairy shrimp time to grow to a visible size. Rock pools are particularly favorable for fairy shrimping because they have no mud and it only takes a few minutes to search an entire pool. The fairy shrimp can’t swim out of sight and have nowhere to hide. If you haven’t seen a rock pool before, have a look at photograph Big Skunk Granite Rock Pool 1989-06-08, #0222, in the Granite Mountains.
The occurrence of an unnamed species of Anostraca in a popular climbing area in close proximity to the University of Wyoming, in Laramie, and Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, is a telling indicator of the academic interest in fairy shrimp.
Anostracan species identified by Denton Belk are:
An unnamed species similar to Branchinecta lindahli (DB); named as new species Branchinecta lateralis by Rogers (2006) – Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #1, Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #2, Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #3, Turtle Rock Southwest Pool #4.