Thermopolis, Wyoming
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Thermopolis West census division. It lies in ZIP code area 82443. It stands on Warm Springs Creek. The Survey maps it on the Thermopolis quadrangle. 2,725 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,331 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Thermopolis
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 8 records
535 Broadwaylisted 1984
CQA Four Mile Bridgelisted 1985
EFP Bridge over Owl Creeklisted 1985
Alex Halone Houselisted 1994- Callaghan Apartmentslisted 1993
- Malta Lodge No. 17 AF&AMlisted 2021
- US Post Office-Thermopolis Mainlisted 1987
- Woodruff Cabin Sitelisted 1970
Population over time
2 figuresThermopolis fell from 3,009 to 2,725 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 3,009 | |
| 2020 | 2,725 | -284 (-9%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 8 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1955 USGS Thermopolis quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Thermopolis quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1960 USGS Thermopolis quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Thermopolis quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Thermopolis quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
72 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 72 fires within 5 miles of Thermopolis between 1992 and 2020, burning about 134 acres in total. 32 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Natural | 32 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21 |
| Fireworks | 9 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Debris and open burning | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2009 | Natural | under an acre | Worland Field Office | SAGE VALLEY |
| 6 September 2009 | Natural | under an acre | Worland Field Office | TOWER |
| 4 September 1995 | Natural | under an acre | Worland Field Office | WILLOW DRW |
| 11 September 2018 | Fireworks | 1.0 acres | Hotsprings County | FISH |
| 10 September 1995 | Natural | under an acre | Worland Field Office | RED CANYON |
| 9 August 2005 | Natural | under an acre | Worland Field Office | BUFFALO CR |
| 8 August 2020 | Natural | under an acre | Wind River / Bighorn Basin District | COYOTE 2 |
| 8 August 2020 | Natural | under an acre | Wind River / Bighorn Basin District | COYOTE 1 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Thermopolis: 4 past producers, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Sulfur, Bentonite, Calcium. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brutch Sulphur Deposit | Sulfur | Producer | Sulfur | |
| Lucerne Mine | Bentonite | Producer | ||
| N-Vam Mine and Mile | Calcium | Past Producer | ||
| Andreen Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Park Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Shafer | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Talovich | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
55 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Thermopolis in 55 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 25 hail, 18 thunderstorm wind, 5 flash flood, 3 funnel cloud. The reports record 1 death and 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2000 | Wildfire | Thermopolis | 1 killed, 1 hurt | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Flash Flood | Thermopolis | $1,500,000 | Very heavy rain fell in southern Hot Springs County. This triggered numerous mud and rock slides, some tumbling several hundred feet or more to the bottom of the Wind River Canyon. State Highway 789 through the canyon was covered with mud, rock, and debris in several locations between mileposts 120 and 123. One Wyoming Department of Transportation employee was briefly trapped in his front-end loader as he tried to clear away small slides at the onset of the event. The massive amount of debris on the highway resulted in the closure of the road from Sunday afternoon, May 24, until Wednesday morning, May 27. Additional slides on the west side of the Wind River Canyon destroyed several sections of railroad track that resulted in a halt of train traffic for several days. |
| September 2024 | Tornado (EF0) | Thermopolis | $50,000 | A brief landspout tornado touched down in downtown Thermopolis, near the intersection of US Hwy 20 and WY Hwy 120. Maximum winds were estimated between 65 to 75 mph as it caused damage to sheet metal roofing and car windows. |
| June 2015 | Hail | East Thermopolis | $20,000 | Two inch diameter hail fell in the Wind River Canyon knocking out windows in vehicles traveling State Highway 789. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | $3,000 | Microburst winds of 50 to 60 mph uprooted a 50-foot Cottonwood tree and blew a one-foot diameter branch about 50 feet in Hot Springs State Park. The wind was also responsible for moving a metal shed across a street near the Hot Springs County fairgrounds. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | A 63 mph wind gust was reported on Boysen Peak. |
| July 2025 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | The public reported penny to quarter size hail in north end of Wind River Canyon. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | Wind gusts as high as 60 mph were reported around Thermopolis. At Hot Springs State Park, large tree branches were downed. |
| May 2019 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | A trained spotter reported penny size hail in Thermopolis. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | An outflow boundary moved through Thermopolis, Wyoming and brought a 61 mph wind gust to the fire station just south of downtown Thermopolis. |
| July 2018 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | Trained spotters reported up to quarter size hail around Thermopolis. |
| May 2018 | Funnel Cloud | East Thermopolis | - | Several trained spotters reported a funnel cloud to the east-southeast of Thermopolis over the Owl Creek Range. |
| August 2016 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | Hail up to the size of nickels was reported in Thermopolis. Most of the hail was pea-sized and it accumulated up to an inch deep in some places. |
| May 2015 | Flash Flood | Thermopolis | - | Heavy rain caused flooding near the town of Thermopolis. South of Thermopolis, Buffalo Creek overflowed its banks and flooded nearby low lying areas. A mobile home community experienced flooding in East Thermopolis as small creeks and streams were inundated with water. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | Several wind gusts over 58 mph were recorded at Thermopolis with a peak speed of 67 mph. The gusts were the result of weak convection and a strong pressure gradient ahead of an approaching cold front. |
| September 2014 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | A long-track thunderstorm produced penny sized hail in Thermopolis. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | A thunderstorm formed over the Wind River Basin and moved north over the Owl Creek Mountains producing a 63 mph wind gust at an automated station on Boysen Peak. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | A thunderstorm formed over the Wind River Basin and moved north over the Owl Creek Mountains producing a wind gust of 62 mph at an automated station on the west side of Thermopolis. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | A strong thunderstorm produced wind gusts to 69 mph at an observation site atop Boysen Peak. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | A strong thunderstorm produced a 59 mph wind gust at an automated weather station on Boysen Peak. |
| July 2009 | Hail | East Thermopolis | - | Quarter sized hail fell at a ranch near Buffalo Creek Road in eastern Hot Springs County. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | Penny sized hail was reported west of Thermopolis near Missouri Flat Road. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | Hot Springs County Dispatch and a spotter reported quarter sized hail in Thermopolis. |
| August 2009 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | Hail as large as nickels fell in the town of Thermopolis. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | Large tree/power line down |
| August 2007 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Flash Flood | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| September 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Flash Flood | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Wildfire | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| August 2000 | Wildfire | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Flash Flood | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Funnel Cloud | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| August 1998 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Funnel Cloud | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thermopolis | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Thermopolis | 0.7 miles | 8 | |
| Red Lane | 2.3 miles | 8 | |
| Minnesela | 4.2 miles | 8 | |
| Lucerne | 6.4 miles | 8 | |
| Kirby | 11.0 miles | 10 | |
| Nickelson Place | 11.3 miles | 8 | |
| Owl Creek | 21.0 miles | 12 | |
| Hamilton Dome | 21.2 miles | 12 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Thermopolis | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1020393 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1597651. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.




