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Nebraska is located in the north-central United States, bordered by South Dakota to the north, Iowa and Missouri to the east, Kansas to the south, and Colorado and Wyoming to the west. The state ranks 16th in land and water area with 77,358 total square miles (200,358 square kilometers), less than one percent of that water. It measures 459 miles (740 kilometers) across at its widest point, a diagonal from northwest to southeast. Nebraska’s elevation, averaging 2,600 feet (793 meters), rises gradually from southeast to northwest in a series of rolling plateaus.
The 310 mile (500 kilometer) long Platte River, formed by the junction of the North and South Platte rivers near the city of North Platte, flows west to east through central Nebraska into the Missouri River. The Platte is too shallow for navigation, but is an important source of water for irrigation, municipal and industrial uses, recreation, hydroelectric power production, and wildlife habitat. The Platte River Valley has been an important east-west human transportation corridor throughout history; the Oregon, Mormon, and California trails, the Pony Express route, the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad, the first transcontinental paved highway (U.S. Highway 30), and I-80 have all followed its course. Nebraska has about 2,500 small lakes (natural and man-made). One of Nebraska’s greatest water resources actually lies below ground, part of the Ogallala Aquifer. The state’s vast underground water supply, used extensively for irrigation, accumulated over hundreds of years and has enough water to cover the state with an estimated 34 feet (10 meters) of water.
Nebraska has two major geographic regions, the Dissected Till Plains and the Great Plains.
The Dissected Till Plains, rolling terrain coupled with bluffs and river-deposited lowlands along the Missouri River, make up the eastern fifth of the state and are well-suited for farming. The Great Plains, stretching west across the rest of the state, consist of sand dunes and valleys that contain streams, lakes, and wetlands. This sandhill grassland area, the largest in the western hemisphere, is an ideal area for raising cattle.
An old expression about weather in Nebraska is that if you don’t like it now, wait five minutes and it will change. Extremes in temperature and frequent changes in the weather are common occurrences in the state, with tornadoes, thunderstorms, blizzards, and hailstorms adding to hot summers and severely cold winters. Temperatures average 26 degrees F (-3.3 C) in winter and 72 degrees F (22 C) in summer and rainfall averages 0.58 inches (1.5 centimeters) in winter and 3.09 inches (7.8 centimeters) in summer though temperature and rainfall can vary greatly from year to year, resulting in drought some years and flooding in others. Spring and fall are usually pleasant seasons.
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