Hell’s Half Acre is an interesting piece of land right smack-dab in the middle of the Cowboy State, 45-miles west of Casper, Wyoming. It’s a place that is rich in history, and stark, yet spectacular, in appearance. Hell’s Half Acre is now a public park, a 320-acre tract of colorful canyon walls, eroded rock formations, and rugged towers, spires, and caverns. There’s the historical stretch of prairie that drops into a chasm, a perfect trap for buffalo driven off the cliffs by Native American tribes for centuries.
Hell’s Half Acre came by its name quite by accident. In fact, it was first known as “Devil’s Kitchen”. It was famed explorer, U.S. Army Captain Benjamin Bonneville, who dubbed it so in 1833. Bonneville’s troops had ventured upon the sulfurous fumes rising out of the ground, an eerie Hades-like scene. Scientists believe that ancient coal deposits here in the badlands had caught on fire and burned for years. Hence, the name Devil’s Kitchen. It was nearly a century later, in the 1930′s when Casper merchants had pictures taken and sent off to be made into postcards. It was a major project to bring tourism to the area, but when the postcards came back, the name under the picture was wrong. It read “Hell’s Half Acre”. An immediate name change took place, and the new name stuck.
Hell’s Half Acre is certainly one of the most recognized locations in Wyoming. It was one of the stars of the 1996 motion picture “Starship Troopers”. Hell’s Half Acre served as the movie set, the entire film was shot on location here, where giant bugs wreaked havoc on futuristic explorers. Another famed locale in Wyoming, Hell’s Half Acre Gym, was the home of the 1943 Wyoming Cowboy National Championship basketball team.
Hell’s Half Acre Resources
Hell’s Half Acre Is One Of The Most Mesmerizing Natural …
www.onlyinyourstate.com/wyoming/hells-half-acre-wy
Hell’s Half Acre Is One Of The Most Mesmerizing Natural Wonders In All Of Wyoming. You might expect a place called “Hell’s Half Acre” to be bleak, barren, and hot as, well, hell. That’s why a trip to this natural wonder is so surprising.
Hell’s Half Acre, Wyoming – Casper, Wyoming – Atlas Obscura
www.atlasobscura.com/places/hell-s-half-acre-wyoming
Discover Hell’s Half Acre, Wyoming in Casper, Wyoming: Devilish landscape, once cinema home to giant alien bugs, now derelict roadside attraction.
Hell’s Half Acre, Powder River, Wyoming – Roadside America
www.roadsideamerica.com/story/8451
Portal to Hell’s Half Acre — the Restaurant. Hell’s Half Acre. Powder River, Wyoming. Update: Since this story was written the store and signage have closed and disappeared. The eerie, snake-infested gorge remains, fenced but visible. Hell’s Half Acre is a geologic oddity – a craggy horseshoe-shaped gorge that drops away from an otherwise flat …
Hell’s Half Acre – My Wyoming Adventure
www.mywyomingadventure.com/wyoming-scenery-2/hells-half-acre
The location had several names before it was labeled Hell’s Half Acre. It was also known as “The Devil’s Kitchen”, “The Pits of Hades”, and “The Baby Grand Canyon.” A lost cowhand found it and thought he was at Hell’s Half Acre, an area southwest of Casper full of alkali and bogs. The 1997 Starship Troopers was filmed here.
Hells Half Acre, Wyoming (WY 82604) profile: population …
www.city-data.com/city/Hells-Half-Acre-Wyoming.html
Average climate in Hells Half Acre, Wyoming. Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations. Earthquake activity: Hells Half Acre-area historical earthquake activity is slightly below Wyoming state average. It is 76% greater than the overall U.S. average. On 8/18/1959 at 06:37:13, a magnitude 7.7 (7.7 UK, Class: Major, Intensity: VIII – XII) earthquake occurred 216.8 miles away from the …
Visit Hells Half Acre on your trip to Casper or United States
www.inspirock.com/united-states/casper/hells-half-acre-a4276134639
Hell’s Half Acre is a large scarp located about 40 miles (64 km) west of Casper, Wyoming on US 20/26. Encompassing 320 acres (1.3 km2), this geologic oddity is composed of deep ravines, caves, rock formations and hard-packed eroded earth. Hell’s Half Acre was used as the location for the fictional planet of Klendathu in the movie Starship Troopers.