The eroded sandstone formation stands about 75 feet (25 m) tall and is about 300 feet (90 m) in circumference. It is located a few hundred yards east of Wyoming Highway 259, about 19 miles (30 km) north of Casper, Wyoming in the Powder River Basin near Teapot Creek, a tributary of Salt Creek.[2]
Teapot Rock on an old postcard from around 1922
The outline of the rock once resembled a teapot and gave its name to several man-made and natural features, including a geologic structural uplift known as the Teapot Dome, and an oil field about 6 miles (10 km) east.[1] Over time, the features that gave the formation its name have been eroded by windstorms; the "handle" disappeared in 1930 and the "spout" in 1962.[3]
History
In 1915, the Teapot Dome Oil Field was designated Naval Petroleum Reserve Number Three as part of a program to ensure that the U.S. Navy, which was converting to oil-fired boilers, would have sufficient fuel reserves in an emergency.[2][4] It was one of several fields in the area, the largest of which was the Salt Creek Oil Field. By comparison to the Salt Creek Field peak production of 35,301,608 barrels (5,612,507.2 m3) in 1923, the Teapot Dome field had about 64 wells, with a few producing more than 150 barrels per day (24 m3/d).[2]
