{{Short description|Natural arch in Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} '''Blackwater Natural Bridge''' is a [[natural arch]] in [[Shoshone National Forest]], [[Wyoming]]. The arch is located along a ridge at an elevation of {{convert|10777|ft}} and is a little over {{convert|.50|mi|abbr=on}} southwest of [[Coxcomb Mountain (Park County, Wyoming)|Coxcomb Mountain]].<ref name=gnis>{{cite gnis|id=1598236|name=Blackwater Natural Bridge|accessdate=August 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name=topo>{{Cite map|publisher=TopoQwest (United States Geological Survey Maps)|title=Sheep Mesa, WY|url=http://www.topoquest.com/map.php?lat=44.36550&lon=-109.76379&datum=nad83&zoom=4|accessdate=August 11, 2013}}</ref> Blackwater Natural Bridge is to the east of the headwaters of Blackwater Creek, which flows north to the North Fork Shoshone River. No official determination of the height or span of the arch has been completed and the estimated size of the arch varies greatly. The non-profit Natural Arch and Bridge Society states that the arch is anywhere from {{convert|70|to|100|ft}} while other sources claim that it may be one of the largest in the world, with a span of {{convert|240|ft|abbr=on}}, a height of {{convert|280|ft|abbr=on}} and with rock thickness of the arch at {{convert|32|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wilbur|first=Jay H.|title=NABSQNO 12T-598501-4913213|publisher=The Natural Arch and Bridge Society|url=http://www.naturalarches.org/db/arches/wy1.htm|accessdate=August 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Murray|first=Ester Johansson|title=A history of the North Fork of the Shoshone River|publisher=Lone Eagle Multi Media|year=1996|page=16|isbn=978-0965137812}}</ref>
Blackwater Natural Bridge is in a remote region that is off trail but can be viewed after a {{convert|14|to|18|mi|adj=on}} round-trip hike depending on starting point from the Blackwater Natural Bridge trailhead located off of U.S. Routes [[U.S. Route 14|14]]/[[U.S. Route 16|16]]/[[U.S. Route 20|20]]. The trailhead is a {{convert|37|mi|adj=on}} drive from [[Cody, Wyoming]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hunger|first=Bill|title=Wyoming: 110 of the State's Best Hiking Adventures|publisher=Falcon Guide|series=State Hiking Guide Series|edition=2|date=June 3, 2008|pages=275–278|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kznlx1YNZzwC&q=blackwater+natural+bridge&pg=PA275|isbn=978-0762734207}}</ref> The trail also leads past the site of the [[Blackwater fire of 1937]] where 15 firefighters were killed and another 38 injured, and is the worst loss of life of firefighters in the history of Wyoming and one of the worst in U.S. history.<ref name=deaths>{{cite web|title=Deadliest Incidents Resulting in the Deaths of 8 or More Firefighters|publisher=National Fire Protection Association|url=https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-tools/Emergency-Responders/Firefighter-fatalities-in-the-United-States/Deadliest-incidents-resulting-in-the-deaths-of-8-or-more-firefighters|accessdate=January 6, 2022|date=December 2021}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{coord|44|21|56|N|109|45|50|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=title}}
[[Category:Shoshone National Forest]] [[Category:Landforms of Park County, Wyoming]] [[Category:Natural arches of Wyoming]]
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