Hell's Half Acre, Cuesta in Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.
Hell's Half Acre is a 320-acre scarp in Natrona County, Wyoming, where erosion has cut ravines more than 45 meters deep into pale gray, tan, and reddish sedimentary rock. The rim is a flat, grass-topped plateau; the basin floor is a dry, light-colored flat. Two dark holes open in the rock face on the right, one a large arch-like opening and above it a smaller round hole.
Hell's Half Acre was long a landmark for travellers, including early settlers, and carried several earlier names: "The Devil's Kitchen", "The Pits of Hades" and "The Baby Grand Canyon". It got its present name from a cowhand who thought he had reached Hell's Half Acre, an alkali-and-bog area southwest of Casper. Native American tribes had earlier driven bison into the ravines during hunts.
Native American tribes utilized the natural features of the area by directing bison herds through the ravines during their hunting expeditions.
Hell's Half Acre lies about 40 miles (64 km) west of Casper on US 20/26 in Natrona County. The cliff edge and the valley below are fenced off with no public access. An interpretive sign stands west of where the former restaurant and motel were demolished in 2005. As of July 2021 two gates in the fence stood open, letting vehicles reach a large gravel lot with potholes closer to the rock.
Scenes for the 1997 film Starship Troopers were shot here, standing in for the fictional planet Klendathu. The site's use as a filming location is easy to miss at a roadside stop with no visitor facilities.
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