The
Platte River is a river in the
Western United States, approximately
long.
It
is a tributary of the Missouri River
, which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi River. The Platte is one of
the most significant river systems in the
watershed of the Missouri, draining a
large portion of the central Great Plains
in Nebraska
and the
eastern Rocky Mountains in Colorado
and Wyoming
. The
river played an important role in the westward expansion of the
United States, providing the route for several major westward
trails, including the
Oregon Trail and
the
Mormon Trail.
It was explored in the
18th century by French
fur
trappers, who also knew it as the Nebraska
River.
Description
The Platte
River is formed in western Nebraska east of the city of North
Platte
by the confluence of its two affluent, the South
Platte and the North Platte
Rivers. Both of these arise from snowmelt in the eastern
Rockies near the
Continental
Divide: the South Platte in Colorado, the North Platte in
Wyoming.
The Platte flows in a large arc, southeast
then northeast, across Nebraska south of the Sandhills
region, passing Gothenburg
, Cozad
, Kearney
, and Grand Island
. It is joined by the Loup River southeast of Columbus
and flows east past North Bend
and then Fremont
. It then bends southward, passing south of
Omaha
, where it is
joined by the Elkhorn River.
It ends at
its confluence with the Missouri north of Plattsmouth
. Including the North Platte, the Platte
stretches over , with a drainage basin of .
The Platte drains one of the most arid areas of the Great Plains
and thus its flow is considerably lower than rivers of comparable
length in North America. For much of its length, it is a classic
wide and shallow
braided stream.
During pioneer days, the common humorous description was that the
Platte was "a mile wide at the mouth, but only six inches deep."
49ers said it was "too thick to drink, too
thin to plow". In western Nebraska, the banks and riverbed of the
Platte provide a green oasis amid an otherwise semi-arid region of
North America. The central Platte River valley is an important
stopover for migratory water birds, such as the
Whooping Crane and
Sandhill Crane, in their yearly traversal of
the
Central Flyway.
This river has shrunk significantly in the past 70 years. This
reduction in size is attributed in part to irrigation, and to a
much greater extent to the waters diverted and used by the growing
population of Colorado, which has outstripped the ability of its
groundwater to sustain them.
History
The first
European to discover the Platte was
the French explorer
Étienne de Veniard,
sieur de Bourgmont in 1714, who named it the
Nebraskier, an
Oto word meaning
"flat water". The
French word for
flat,
plate
(pronounced
plat, or
platte), was later applied.
The river provided valuable transportation for the French trade in
furs with the
Pawnee and Oto Indians
The Platte
lay in a gray area between Spanish
and French
claims in the Great Plains. Joseph
Naranjo, a black explorer, had also encountered the Platte, and
later guided the
Villasur
expedition there to stop French expansion. Theirs was the
deepest penetration of
Spanish exploration
into the central plains.
Ceded to the United States in the
Louisiana Purchase, the Platte was
explored and mapped by Major
Stephen
H. Long in 1820. The Platte was
used by American trappers, and the
Great Platte River Road played an
important role in westward expansion during the 19th century. It
provided fresh water, game, and a clear path westward for the
pioneers. Both the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail followed the
Platte (and the North Platte). In the 1860s, the Platte and North
Platte furnished the route of
Pony
Express and later for the
Union Pacific portion of the first
transcontinental
railroad. In the 20th century, its valley was used for the
route of the
Lincoln Highway and
later for
Interstate 80, which
parallels the Platte and the North Platte through much of
Nebraska.
This is also why many of Nebraska’s larger cities are located on or
near the Platte River, including Omaha, Kearney, Grand Island, and
North Platte. There were also historical sites along the Platte
River such as Fort Kearny and other fur trading posts mostly due to
the ease and abundance of traveling along the Platte River.
Then in 1859 the first irrigation ditch was built to divert water
from the Platte in order to be used in farming.
Species
The Platte is in the middle of the Central Flyway which is a
primary North- South Corridor for migratory birds which affects
many species including the Whooping Crane, Piping Plover, and
Interior Least Tern which are all endangered and protected under
the Platte River Endangered Species Partnership as well as the
Pallid Sturgeon. It is also home to many other plants and
animals.
Plants that occur often in the Platte River area are Big and Little
Bluestem, switch grass, and cottonwood trees. Some of the more
charismatic animals are white-tail deer, many types of catfish,
Canada geese, and bald eagles. The Platte River has always been
able to support many animals but recently due to urbanization and
farming the ecosystem is being depleted.
Management and policy
The criteria for overappropriation, according to the final reading
of LB 962, is that if the river basin, sub basin, or reach is
subject to an interstate cooperative agreement among three or more
states and if , prior to such date, the department has declared a
moratorium on the issuance of new surface water appropriations in
such river basin, sub basin or reach and has requested each natural
resource district with jurisdiction in the affected area in such
river basin, sub basin or reach either to close or to continue in
effect a previously adopted closure of all or part of such river
basin, sub basin, or reach to the issuance of additional water well
permits in accordance with subdivision. Most of the Platte River
basin is currently considered as overappropriated.
Beginning in 2004, a number of Nebraska stakeholders embarked upon
the Platte River Cooperative Hydrology Study (COHYST). Conducted
with assistance from the
United States Geological
Survey and the
Natural Resources Conservation
Service, this study attempts to arrive at a better
understanding of the geology and hydrology of the Platte River
basin from the Colorado and Wyoming borders to Columbus, including
the Loup basin. This improved understanding could be used to
develop policies for management of the river system, both for human
use and for the sake of the basin's endangered species. As of
October 2009, the study is still ongoing.
Literary reference
In
Centennial,
James A. Michener's epic novel about the West from
prehistoric to modern times, the second chapter is about the
geological history of the Platte River tributary. The river as
stopover for
sandhill cranes plays an
important part in
Richard Powers'
2006 novel
The Echo Maker.
Algis, Laukaitis J. Searching for the Source. UNL. Lincoln: CoJMC,
2006.Caponera, Daunte. Principles of Water Law and Administration:
National and International. Taylor and Francis, 1992.
126-127.Carolyn, Johnsen. Wrestling for Resources. UNL. Lincoln:
CoJMC, 2006.Condra, G. E. Development of the Platte River
Bottomland in South Central Nebraska.
Annals of the Association of American Geographers 21 (1931): 101-105.
Endangered and Threatened Species of the Platte River. Washington,
DC: The National Academies P, 2005.Europeans Compete for Trade.
Nebraska Studies. 20 Apr. 2008
/www.nebraskastudies.org/0300/frameset_reset.html?http://www.nebraskas
tudies.org/0300/stories/0301_0112.htmKirsch, Eileen. Wildlife
Monographs, No. 132, Habitat Selection and Productivity of Least
Terns on the Lower Platte River, Nebraska (Jan., 1996), pp.
3-48Kirsch, Eileen et al. Colonial Waterbirds, Vol. 16, No. 2
(1993), pp. 139-148Max, Post Van Der Burg. A Diminishing Habitat.
UNL. Lincoln: CoJMC, 2006.McCammon, Sarah. Cohyst Project. UNL.
Lincoln: CoJMC, 2006.Nebraska. Natural Resources. Legislative Bill
962. 2004.Nebraska State Map Collection. 29 Apr. 2008
/geology.com/state- map/nebraska.shtml>.Nemec, Kristine.
Underground Treasure Trove. UNL. Lincoln: CoJMC, 2006.Phelps,
Steven. Genetic Identity of Pallid and Shovelnose Sturgeon. Copeia,
Vol. 1983, No. 3 (Aug. 16, 1983), pp. 696-700Summary of LB 962
Activities. Nebraska Department Natural Resources, 2004.
Notes
Further reading
- Bruce, B.W. and P.B. McMahon. (1998). Shallow ground-water
quality of selected land-use/aquifer settings in the South Platte
River Basin, Colorado and Nebraska, 1993-95 [U.S. Geological
Survey Water-resources Investigations Report 97-4229]. Denver: U.S.
Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
- Condon, S.M. (2005). Geologic studies of the Platte River,
south-central Nebraska and adjacent areas, geologic maps,
subsurface study, and geologic history [U.S. Geological Survey
Professional Paper 1706]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the
Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
- Dennehy, D.F. et al. (1998). Water quality in the South
Platte River Basin, Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, 1992-95
[U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1167]. Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
- Druliner, A.D., B.J. Esmoil, and J.M. Spears. (1999). Field
screening of water quality, bottom sediment, and biota associated
with irrigation drainage in the North Platte Project area, Nebraska
and Wyoming, 1995 [U.S. Geological Survey Water-resources
Investigations Report 98-4210]. Lincoln, NE: U.S. Department of the
Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
- Hardgree, M. (1995). A selected bibliography on the
hydrology of the Platte River Basin in Nebraska through 1991
[U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-496]. Lincoln, NE: U.S.
Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
- Kimbrough, R.A. and D.W. Litke. (1998). Pesticides in
surface water in agricultural and urban areas of the South Platte
River Basin, from Denver, Colorado, to North Platte, Nebraska,
1993-94 [U.S. Geological Survey Water-resources Investigations
Report 97-4230]. Denver: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S.
Geological Survey.
- Larson, L.R. (1985). Water quality of the North Platte
River, east-central Wyoming [U.S. Geological Survey
Water-resources Investigations Report 84-4172]. Cheyenne, WY: U.S.
Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
- Litke, D.W. (1996). Sources and loads of nutrients in the
South Platte River, Colorado and Nebraska, 1994-95 [U.S.
Geological Survey Water-resources Investigations Report 96-4029].
Denver: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological
Survey.
- Sprague, L.A. and A.I. Greve. (2003). Changes in nutrient
and pesticide concentrations in urban and agricultural areas of the
South Platte River Basin, Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska,
1994-2000 [U.S. Geological Survey Water-resources
Investigations Report 02-4270]. Denver: U.S. Department of the
Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
See also