NEBRASKA 



4102 



NEBRASKA 



cially along the Snake and Niobrara river ca- 

 nons, the scenery is picturesque and beautiful, 

 and precipitous cliffs rise ninety feet above the 

 waterfalls in the Niobrara near Valentine. 



The Bad Lands of South Dakota extend into 

 the northwest corner of Nebraska. They are 

 rough plains of clay and slag, oddly formed and 

 seamed by the action of wind and rain, and bare 

 except for pockets of grass which are used as 

 pasture land. East of the Bad Lands and north 

 of the Platte River are the sand hills. In some 

 places these hills rise in tiers, and except for 

 hollows scooped out by the winds, they are cov- 

 ered with grass. The water absorbed by their 

 porous, spongelike soil breaks out into many 

 streams, springs and lakes. 



In the central part of the state are great 

 grassy prairies merging into the fertile farm 

 lands of the eastern section, where, extending 

 mile after mile, there are gently-rolling corn 

 and grain fields, intersected by many streams. 



Rivers and Lakes. The Missouri flows be- 

 tween wooded bluffs along the entire eastern 

 border, and with its tributaries it drains the 

 state. Its largest branch is the Platte River, 

 crossing the state just south of the center and 

 fed by the Loup and Elkhorn rivers and many 

 small streams. In the south-central part of the 

 state it divides, forming two branches, the North 

 Platte, rising in Wyoming, and the South Platte, 

 entering Nebraska from Colorado. The Nio- 

 brara, another large tributary of the Missouri, 

 drains the northern part of the state, and the 

 Republican, a branch of the Kansas, flows for 

 some distance through the state just within the 

 southern boundary. With the exception of the 

 Missouri and the Niobrara, the rivers are slow 

 and shallow. 



Underlying much of -the surface there is an 

 unlimited supply of water which has percolated 

 through the loose soil, and artesian wells are 

 widely distributed. The "blowing-wells," or 

 "weather-wells," found south of the Platte, are 

 peculiar, for they "blow" or "suck" with the 

 varying atmospheric pressure. Many of the 

 wells furnish power for industrial and irrigation 

 plants. There are numerous lakes and springs 

 in the sand hills, and many small lakes and 

 ponds border the Missouri, Platte, Elkhorn, Big 

 Blue and other rivers. 



Climate. The Nebraska skies are generally 

 cloudless, the atmosphere dry and rare and the 

 climate exhilarating. Although summer nights 

 are cool, the glaring heat of midsummer days 

 is disagreeable and the Gulf winds are oppres- 

 sive. The temperature at times rises above 



110 F. Extremes of cold also occur, and the 

 winters though bright are generally severe. The 

 snows are light, but an occasional blizzard from 

 the Northwest strikes the state, causing dam- 

 age among the herds on the open plains. In 

 the extreme western part of the state the an- 

 nual rainfall averages but twelve inches, and 

 the whole west section is arid, but the rainfall 

 in the east is sufficient for agricultural purposes. 

 Nebraska is fortunate in receiving its rain dur- 

 ing the growing season, and though the amount 

 is comparatively small, it is effective. The an- 

 nual precipitation averages twenty-three inches. 



Agriculture. Nebraska is covered with a 

 mantle of fertile soil and it is preeminently an 

 agricultural state. In the eastern section great 

 crops of Indian corn, wheat and oats are pro- 

 duced, and in the west and northwest regions, 

 grasses grow in abundance; where the land is 

 irrigated, other crops can be raised. In 1910 

 about three-fourths of the total land area was 

 in farms. Corn is by far the most important 

 crop, in the production of which Nebraska is 

 surpassed only by Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and 

 Indiana, in average years (see CORN). 



Wheat, oats, alfalfa and other hay, potatoes, 

 rye and barley are other large crops. In the pro- 

 duction of wheat Nebraska rivals Minnesota, 

 but is exceeded by North Dakota and Kansas. 

 In the output of alfalfa the state is surpassed 

 only by Kansas. Apples are the most impor- 

 tant of the orchard fruits, though over 100,000 

 bushels of peaches and nectarines and nearly 

 as large a quantity of cherries are produced. 

 Grapes and small fruits, especially strawberries 

 and blackberries, are also grown. Nebraska 

 ranks fifth among the states in the value of its 

 crops. 



A greater variety of hay and forage is grown 

 here than in any other state in the Union, and 

 the vast pasture lands on the west and large 

 crops of hay and corn of the eastern section 

 furnish an abundance of feed for live stock, 

 which is raised for the market. The value of 

 the live stock of the state averages over $170,- 

 000,000 yearly, placing Nebraska among the 

 leading states in the value of animal products. 



Irrigation. Irrigation is a fundamental prob- 

 lem in the development of the western part of 

 the state. In many places wells supply the 

 water, and in the sand hills the lakes furnish 

 a source of water supply for irrigating systems. 

 All irrigation projects, either completed or un- 

 der way, include the watering of 951,000 acres. 



Forests. Less than two per cent of the land 

 area is woodland, but the state has been very 



