Shell, WY

Shell is a census-designated place in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. The 2010 census counted 83 residents. The community is named for the abundance of fossil shells located in the area. Nearby exposed formations such as the Cloverly Formation and the Morrison Formation have yielded numerous fossils of dinosaurs and other animals. Shell's local map joins its older history to the places and landscapes that still shape the town today, all within the wider Wyoming setting. The local scoop is how Shell's history still shows up in the places people visit, work, learn, and meet. Located to the west of the town is the Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite, a rare collection of dinosaur tracks from the Jurassic period. Shell is located at the base of the Big Horn Mountains, at the mouth of Shell Canyon. Nearby Shell Creek rises in the Big Horn Mountains and joins the Big Horn River just north of Greybull.