[1] It drains an area historically known as the Powder River Country on the high plains east of the Bighorn Mountains.

The Little Powder River was so named because the sand along a portion of its banks resembled gunpowder.

The Powder River Basin near the Montana/Wyoming border is a major source of low-sulfur coal mined in the United States.

In the late 19th century, its valley was a corridor used for cattle drives from Texas to Montana.

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