ROCK SPRINGS

city, Sweetwater county, southwestern Wyoming, U.S., on Bitter Creek, at an altitude of 6,270 ft (1,911 m) among sagebrush plains and hills, 13 mi (21 km) east of Green River city. Named for a nearby saline spring, it began as a stage stop in 1862; after the arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1868, it developed as a coal-mining and ranching centre. Federal troops were called (in 1885) to quell riots against Chinese mine workers and remained there until 1898. Butch Cassidy, the outlaw, once worked in a butcher's shop in Rock Springs, hence his name. Coal, soda ash (from nearby trona deposits), oil, natural gas, and livestock are the economic mainstays. Western Wyoming Community College (1959) is there. Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area lies to the southwest; and Rock Springs is the gateway to scenic areas to the north including Jackson Hole, the Wind River Mountains, the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone National Park. Inc. 1888. Pop. (1990) 19,050.