NEBRASKA, styled "The Tree Planters' State" by act of legislature on April 4, 1895, is near the centre of the United States of America, lying approximately between 4o° and 43° N. lat. and between 95° and 104° long. W. from Greenwich. It is bounded on the north by South Dakota, on the east by Iowa and a corner of Missouri, on the south by Kansas, on the south and west by a corner of Colorado and on the west by Wyoming. The Missouri river flows along the eastern and north-eastern border. The ex treme length of the State is about 43o m. and the extreme breadth about 210 m. The area is 77,52o sq.m., of which 712 are water surface. Nebraska was named "Tree Planters' State" because Arbor Day originated there and forestry has been given great emphasis by its early pioneers and their successors.
The loess region includes about 43,00o sq.m. of the best farming region in the eastern, central and southern parts of the State. In the loess plains the landscapes flow in a series of long gentle waves toward the south-east. Along the Missouri, the Republican, and at some points elsewhere, the waves converge into moderate hills. The sand-hill region lies west and north-west of the loess plains, like an open fan with the handle toward the north-east. The main region includes about 18,000 sq.m. with outlying areas dotting other parts of the State. Scattered through the sand-hills are rich valleys, lakes and fertile table-lands. The sand-hills themselves are for the most part, a series of sloping hills, rising sometimes into pinnacles, at other times stretching in gentle plains. Their present contours are chiefly the result of wind action. Save in rare instances they have long ceased to be shifting dunes; for, with the cessation of prairie fires and the increase of settlement, they have become well grassed over and stable. Their general height is from 25 to ioo ft. above the valleys between.
West and north-west of the sand-hills lie the high plains, mostly level stretches of table-land, broken occasionally by deep canyons. In this region are about 12,000 sq. miles. Included in this region are two areas of evergreen wooded mountains, the Wild Cat range, in Scotts Bluff and Banner counties and the Pine Ridge in Sheri dan, Dawes and Sioux counties. A conspicuous feature of these
high plains is the buttes, isolated rugged hills, nearly destitute of vegetation, rising hundreds of feet above the surrounding plain. The entire plain-region rises to an average height of from 3,000 to 4,000 ft. with large areas of level rich soil. The North Platte river, with its valley, io to 12 m. in width, cuts through the heart of the high plains and is joined near the edge of the sand-hills by the South Platte river entering from Colorado. The Pierre Shale region (or Bad Lands) occupies an area of about i,000 sq.m. chiefly in Sioux county, with minor sections in Dawes and Sheri dan counties. Their weathered slopes and valleys furnish fine grazing and, with water, grow abundant crops. In connection with the Pine Ridge and Wild Cat mountains this section furnishes a region of rare scenic beauty and a sheltered range for stocks.
Rivers and Drainage Basins.—All the drainage of the State reaches the Missouri river, which skirts the eastern border for approximately 450 miles. Present navigation is limited to ferry and excursion boats. Chief tributaries of the Missouri in Nebraska are the Platte, with its branches; the Niobrara; the Republican; the Big and Little Blue; the Big and Little Nemaha. The Platte river is the dominant and characteristic Nebraska river. Its wide terraced valley, extending across the entire State and leading to mountain passes, has made it the chief highway across the conti nent from the beginning. Its channel varies from m. to 1 m. in width, and is filled with islands of varying size and shape. Its waters are shallow with a fall of about 6 to 8 ft. per mile. In the spring its depth varies from 1 to 6 feet. In the late summer use of water for irrigation leaves its middle course in the State entirely dry. The Loup and Elkhorn rivers, principal tributaries of the Platte, head in the sand-hills and are nearly 200 m. long each, with an abundant flow of water through beautiful valleys. Of Nebraska's 77,00o sq.m. about 40,00o are in the drainage basin of the Platte and its tributaries. The Niobrara is a very swift stream over 400 m. in length, running for about half that distance through canyons and hills wooded with pine and cedar. Beautiful water falls exist upon the Loup, Niobrara and their tributaries, some of them 70 ft. in height, and the entire region, with its hundreds of lakes scattered over the sand-hills, makes an attractive tourist camping ground. The Republican river is the principal stream along the southern border, as the Niobrara is in the north. The Big Blue and the Little Blue, about 200 m. in length, with their tributaries, drain the south-central part of the State. Their flow is more sluggish, the grade gently sloping back to the surrounding prairie. The Big and Little Nemaha, about 15o m. long, drain the south-east section.