"Shallow River"
"Equality before the Law"

All About Nebraska

Nebraska Population: 1,826,341

Nebraska is in the middle of the United States.  We cover two time zones, with the split made with approximately two thirds in Central Time and one third in Mountain Time.

Nebraska's History

Calling all Françophobias and Françophiles to unite.

Nebraska is one of the states from the Great Plains area of the Midwest claimed by both France and Spain.*  After beating Spain at war, France claimed all lands drained by the Mississippi.  Nebraska became U.S. property as part of the Louisiana Purchase from the French for $15 million on April 30, 1803.  Even though it was now owned by the United States, it was not part of the United States as a state, nor was it known as Nebraska. Read More*

Nebraska has three National Monuments 1) The Agate Fossil Beds (with 3,055 acres), 2) Homestead National Monument of America (195 acres), and 3) Scotts Bluff National Monument (3,003 acres).  We have a National River (the Niobrara), and the Missouri River is a National Wild and Scenic River.  Read More*

Nebraska is Famous  

Nebraska is famous for several things.  Arbor Day started in Nebraska, actually Nebraska City to be exact.  Marlon Brando, Johnny Carson, Willa Cather, Henry Fonda, Robert Taylor, all come from Nebraska. These are not the only people that lived in Nebraska; take a look at the list of Famous Nebraskans at the left. There are two things I can say about that list: 1) it certainly cannot possibly be complete now, and 2) it obviously will continue to grow! Nebraska is producing some wonderful people that do great things. One final thing, the list consists of people that are from any pace in Nebraska other than Omaha, because Omaha has its own list of Famous folks. You can see that list on the 2nd page about Omaha.

Rodeos started in Nebraska with Buffalo Bill at North Platte.  Several Nebraska cities compete to have the greatest rodeo.

Nebraska could be considered the "Mastodon State" since the largest Mastodon was found in Nebraska.  You can see the rare find in the Nebraska State Museum of Natural History in Lincoln.  There are several excavation sites that are being worked on constantly, so if you like seeing them still in the ground, you should visit the Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park just south of the notch at Lewis and Clark Lake (Northwest of the intersection of Highway 14 and Highway 20).  If you get out in the northwest corner of the state, near Fort Robinson State Historical Park and Museum and the Pine Ridge Recreation Area, you can visit the Hudson-Meng Bison Bonebed for some easier to dig fossils.  We also have the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument just south of there.

Nebraska, rich in fertile soils as most of the Midwest, has become a major agricultural center now feeding much of the U.S.  As they say, "Don't complain about Nebraska with your mouth full."  It is hard to find any fault with the statement.

Nebraska raises the best beef and corn.  Our corn-fed beef produces the filet of filets when it comes to great tasting beef.  Anyone returning to Nebraska is anxious to sink their teeth into the steak they have been dreaming about since leaving.  We keep the best for ourselves so you can't even get it as export.  Besides, it is so much better when you eat it in Nebraska.

Nebraska is proud of its "Cornhusker" nickname, and flaunts it with the best college football team in the U.S.* No matter where you are from, if you know football, you know about the Cornhuskers.

Oceans of Water  

It is easy to imagine that Nebraska was once under water as much of the state is flatlands.  We still have an ocean under Nebraska that if it were above ground would cover the entire state with 34 feet of water.  Actually, the ocean is only under a portion of the state, the middle northern portion known as the Sand Hills.  The ocean is known as the Ogallala Aquifer, so large that it stretches all the way to Texas, underground of course.  It is our main source for irrigation.

The Sand Hills gets its name from the sand dunes, our very own "outback."  The Sand Hills takes up nearly a quarter of the state, but is isn't all sand.  The land is largely used as Nebraska beef grazing lands and cattle don't eat sand.  The area is also covered with lakes and wooded areas, which makes for great camping, hiking, and wildlife excursions.  The area is not very populated; it has on the average only two persons per square mile so if you see someone say, "hi."  You can never tell when you will need a friend.

Rivers, Streams, and Lakes  

Nebraska has nearly 23,000 miles of rivers.  Try topping that.  You can't.  All of the rivers feed back into the Missouri River.  The majority comes through either the Platte River, or through Lewis and Clark Lake (between Nebraska and South Dakota).  Only the state's southern part has rivers that travel through Kansas on their way to the Missouri River.  If you get lost, from just about anywhere in the state you can get in a raft and wind up back around Omaha, . . . eventually.  If you end up in Lewis and Clark Lake on your way, keep in mind that the dam has a big drop down to the level of the Missouri River.

Nebraska's Neighbors  

Nebraska has six neighbor states.  Check out the links for more information.

Nebraska's Communities  

Nebraska's towns and cities were settled starting from the east to the west.  The state's rivers and Indian paths were used to explore and therefore expand into the interior.  Since the Indian population traveled by the streams and rivers, you can understand why the early settlements are on or near the rivers and streams.  Those settlements had the greatest advantage to grow, and as a general rule are still the larger communities.

Enjoy reading about some of Nebraska's finest communities.  Two versions of the same information is available; one is listed alphabetically, the other is sorted by distance from Omaha.  We also have a larger list of Nebraska Communities that have Chamber of Commerce or City websites.  The list has zip code information, population counts, county location, and a web link.