Encampment, Wyoming in the context of "Sierra Madre Range (Wyoming)"

The Sierra Madre Range is a mountain range in the western United States, located in south-central Wyoming and north-central Colorado. Geologically, it may be considered an extension of the Park Range of Colorado. South of the Great Divide Basin, the US Continental Divide runs along the Sierra Madre high points. Its western basins drain into the Colorado River and its eastern into the North Platte River. Buck Mountain, elevation 11,396 feet (3,474 meters), is the highest peak in the range and lies within Colorado. Bridger Peak, elevation 11,004 feet (3,354 meters), is the range's highest elevation in Wyoming.

Copper resources within the range were extracted during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the Ferris-Haggarty Mine which lies about two miles west of Bridger Peak. Its operations were centered near Encampment 15 miles to the east. Gold findings in the range during the 1890s sparked a short-lived gold rush that attracted thousands of prospectors. The possibility of further discoveries renewed interest during the late 20th and early 21st centuries.