6 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL 
River VALLEY REGION 
On the eastern side of the state is the narrow valley 
of the Missouri River. It is bordered by steep and 
wooded bluffs, broken by numerous ravines. The width 
varies from half a mile to as much as eight miles. The 
Missouri river meanders between the bordering bluffs, 
thus leaving a variable width of valley to the Nebraska 
side. Horseshoe lakes or lagoons are frequent. The 
soil is of alluvial origin, being of fine silt and sand. Old 
woods are frequent. : 
The Platte river with its main tributary, the North 
Platte, flows across the state through the central por- 
tion from west to east. The width of the North Platte 
on entering the state is about five hundred feet, the 
width of the Platte at its mouth is more than a mile. 
The valley of the North Platte is deep and narrow, usu- 
ally less than half a mile in width, the valley of the 
Platte varies in width from one to eight miles. The 
river banks are low and usually treeless. The water is 
shallow and frequently divides into several streams 
which are separated by long sandbars or low wooded 
islands. 
The Niobrara river flows in a narrow gorge for more 
than two-thirds of its course in Nebraska. The last fifty 
miles of its course is through a valley varying in width 
from half a mile to a mile. Here the banks are low and. 
wooded, the bluffs are steep and densely covered with 
thickets and young trees, and occasionally the valleys 
are heavily wooded. 
The Republican river enters the state near the south- 
western corner, flows eastward through eight counties 
of the southern tier, then turns southward into Kansas. 
The valleys are rather broad and treeless, the bluffs low 
and bare of trees, in the ravines are willow, cottonwood, 
and ash trees, the river banks usually have a fringe © 
