52 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



the Rocky Mountain region is drying up. The evidence, so far as 

 it goes, points in the other direction, and proves that it is increasing. 

 The agency of man probably has something to do with this, just as 

 it has in Nebraska, but our limits will not permit a discussion of 

 this point. 



CHAPTER V. 



WATERS OF NEBRASKA. 



Lakes — Springs — Wells — Artesian Wells — Saline Springs — Rivers — Mis- 

 souri — Platte — Republican — Niobrara — Keya Paha — White River — Elkhorn 

 Logan — Bow Rivers — Nemahas — Blues, Loups, etc. 



IN striking contrast to past geological times, there are now no 

 large lakes in Nebraska. There are, however, a great numbe.i 

 of small lakes in the State. From their small size and their dis- 

 tance from railroads they have thus far attracted little attention. 

 Those along the Missouri, such as the ones in Dakota and Burt 

 counties, have been produced in recent times, some of them indeed 

 within a few years. The " cut-offs " of the Missouri often leave 

 small lakes. The one northwest of Dakota City is about five miles 

 long. Similar lakes, in a similar way, have been formed on the 

 Elkhorn, the Platte and the Blue rivers. Many of these, however, 

 in the interior, are the remnants of what was once, in loess times, 

 a vast inland lake that covered the larger part of Nebraska.* An 

 extensive region of small lakes is found at the head of the Elkhorn 

 River. Of the lakelets that exist here, over thirty in number, 

 many of them are of great beauty with sandy or pebbly bottoms. 

 A still more extensive lake region exists at the headwaters of the 

 North Loup, and between that and the Niobrara River. Most of 

 these are of fresh water, but a few are saline or alkaline. At the 

 head of Snake River, a tributary of the Niobrara, there are a num- 

 ber of small saline and fresh water lakes. Perhaps the most exten- 

 sive groups of saline lakes are those at the head of Pine Creek, also 

 one of the tributaries of the Niobrara. There are also a number 

 of alkaline and fresh water lakes between the heads of the Dismal 

 and Middle Loup. In my notes of exploration and travel there is 



*See chapter on Superficial Deposits of Nebraska. 



