Devil's Gate, Natural rock formation and canyon in Natrona County, Wyoming.
Devil's Gate is a narrow slot cut by the Sweetwater River through a granite ridge, about 100 meters deep. The rock walls are layered light grey and tan, with rounded boulders at the base of the taller left wall and a rounded outcrop near the top of the right wall. A dark green conifer grows on the right wall near the gap.
The Sweetwater River cut this 100-metre-deep slot through a granite ridge; had it flowed less than a kilometre south it could have bypassed the ridge, but it eroded down through valley-fill sediments and kept cutting once it hit granite. The cleft was a major landmark on the Oregon and Mormon trails, though the actual route did not pass through it. After the Union Pacific Railroad reached Benton, the Mormon Trail was rerouted through Whiskey Gap in Carbon County to a point 10 miles west of Devil's Gate.
The name Devil's Gate was given by early travelers to the narrow cleft, which served as a landmark on the Oregon and Mormon trails even though the actual route bypassed it. The site is especially tied to Mormon Trail history: after the Union Pacific Railroad reached Benton, the trail was rerouted through Whiskey Gap to a point 10 miles west of Devil's Gate. Today visitors reach the gorge via trails from the Mormon Handcart Historical Center at Sun Ranch or from the old alignment of Wyoming Highway 220.
The site is reachable on foot via marked trails starting from nearby visitor centers and historical landmarks. Spring through fall offers the most comfortable conditions for exploring the cleft and surrounding canyon walls.
The cleft is a case of superposed drainage: the Sweetwater River cut down through valley-fill sediments and kept cutting once it reached the granite ridge. Had it run less than a kilometre south, it would have missed the ridge entirely. The trail to the site starts near the Mormon Handcart Historical Center at Sun Ranch.
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