 The topography in Carbon County includes everything from deserts to alpine tundra and it's almost 7900 square miles. The topography is as various as its residents, which included miners, bandits, ranchers and Native Americans to name a few. So what's in the name? Carbon was named after coal because there were numerous coal mines in the county. The first coal town in Wyoming was Carbon, founded in 1868. Carbon County has always been a hotbed for energy production with coal, copper, uranium, natural gas, wind and refinery. These continued to be economic drivers, but would you believe that there used to be about two million sheep in the county? Carbon County, created in 1868, was one of the five original counties of the Wyoming Territory. Like the others, it stretched all the way from Colorado to Montana. The modern day counties of Sheridan, Johnson and Neutrona were carved from this original county. Carbon County has the most incorporated towns in the state. The ten towns are Rollins, which is the county seat, Bags, Dixon, Elk Mountain, Inc., Hanna, Medicine Bow, Riverside, Sinclair and Saratoga. If you're in Wyoming for long, you can't help but travel through Carbon County. Next time you're through, get off the interstate and enjoy its unique beauty and history. From the University of Wyoming Extension, I'm Mae Smith, Exploring the Nature of Wyoming.