Sweetwater

The Sweetwater River rises near the southern end of the Wind River Range, close to a broad crossing of the Continental Divide known as South Pass. Its valley leads east towards the North Platte, while waters beyond the divide flow towards the Green River. Indigenous travellers knew and used the pass long before fur traders arrived. In 1824 a party led by Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick reached the upper Sweetwater and crossed westward, making the route known again to the fur trade.