Niobrara River

Niobrara River
River
The Niobrara at its confluence with the Missouri. The Niobrara runs from lower right to upper left, under the bridge in the photo; the Missouri is in the background, flowing from left to right.
Country	United States
States	Wyoming, Nebraska
Source	near Manville
- elevation	5,500 ft (1,676 m)
Mouth	Missouri River
- elevation	1,220 ft (372 m)
Length	568 mi (914 km)
Basin	11,580 sq mi (29,992 km2)
Discharge	for Verdel, NE
- average	1,718 cu ft/s (49 m3/s)
- max	39,100 cu ft/s (1,107 m3/s)
- min	102 cu ft/s (3 m3/s)
Map of the Niobrara River (light blue)

Niobrara river flowing through Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, near its headwaters.

The Niobrara River ( /ˌnaɪ.əˈbrærə/; from the Ponca Ní Ubthátha khe pronounced [nĩꜜ ubɫᶞaꜜɫᶞa kʰe], meaning "water spread-out horizontal-the"; Cheyenne: Hisse Yovi Yoe, meaning "surprise river") is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 568 miles (914 km) long,^[1] running through the U.S. states of Wyoming and Nebraska.^[2] The river drains one of the most arid sections of the Great Plains, and has a low flow for a river of its length. The Niobrara's watershed includes a small south-central section of South Dakota as well as the northern tier of Nebraska and a tiny area of eastern Wyoming.

Course

The river rises in the High Plains of Wyoming, in southern Niobrara County. The Niobrara flows east as an intermittent stream past Lusk and southeast into northwestern Nebraska. It then flows southeast across the Pine Ridge country of Sioux County, then east through Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, past Marsland, and through Box Butte Reservoir. The stream flows east across northern Nebraska, near the northern edge of the Sandhills and past Valentine. It is joined by the Snake River about 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Valentine. In north-central Nebraska it is joined by the Keya Paha River approximately 6 miles (10 km) west of Butte. The river joins the Missouri northwest of Niobrara in northern Knox County. Its total drainage basin is about 11,580 square miles (30,000 km²).

76 miles (122 km) of the Niobrara River in central Nebraska from the town of Valentine east to Nebraska State Highway 137, have been designated as the Niobrara National Scenic River.

Discharge

The river's average discharge is 1,718 cubic feet per second (48.6 m³/s) at Verdel, Nebraska. The highest flow recorded was 39,100 cubic feet per second (1,110 m³/s) on March 27, 1960. The lowest daily mean was 102 cubic feet per second (2.9 m³/s) on November 13, 1960.^[3]

History

The lower Niobrara valley is the traditional home of the Ponca tribe of Native Americans. Between 1861 and 1882, the stretch of the Niobrara River from the mouth of the Keya Paha to its confluence with the Missouri marked the boundary between Nebraska and the Dakota Territory.

In popular culture

Composer Larry McTaggert wrote a piece for bands entitled Niobrara River Sketches, containing the movements Tubing on the River, Sunset in Cherry County, and Hoedown in Niobrara. The Niobrara is mentioned in Jack Kerouac's song Home I'll Never Be or in Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich book The Sons of Great Bear.

References

1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 30, 2011
2. ^ "Nature & Science". National Park Service: Niobrara National Scenic River. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
3. ^ "USGS Gage #06465500 on the Niobrara River at Verdel, NE". National Water Information System. U.S> Geological Survey. 1938-present. http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/wy2009/pdfs/06465500.2009.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-11. 

See also

• List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem)
• List of Nebraska rivers
• List of Wyoming rivers
• Niobrara State Park

Coordinates: 42°46′18″N 98°02′46″W / 42.7717°N 98.0461°W / 42.7717; -98.0461