“Came suddenly into an open and boundless prairie. I say boundless because I could
not see the extent of the plain in any direction…This prospect was so sudden and
entertaining that I forgot the object of my analysis…”
~Meriwether Clark, July 19, 1804
The Niobrara River valley straddles the 100th Meridian and is a land of extremes. Summers are hot and generally dry with highs in the 90’s and low 100’s–and the annual precipitation is only around 18 inches. Scorching winds of 25-40 mph are not uncommon in June, July, and August. Like the summers, winters on the Niobrara are also extreme with blowing snow and spells of below zero temperatures.
Despite the extremes, the Niobrara River Valley supports exceptional biological diversity within its narrow confines, where elements of the following ecosystems exist in the same area or very close to each other: northern boreal forest, ponderosa pine forest and savanna, eastern deciduous forest, tallgrass prairie, mixed-grass prairie, and sandhills prairie. Approximately 160 species of plants and animals found in the Niobrara Valley are at the edge of their range. Some plant and animal species are state or federally listed as rare, threatened, endangered, or candidate species.
Because the Niobrara River drains over 12,000 square miles of the Sandhills, it is one of the largest stabilized dunefields in the world.
There are few places in the U.S. that can match the beauty of the Niobrara.
Sunsets on the Niobrara River, Niobrara, NE
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