Some of America’s most fertile farmlands stretch across the central Midwest states of Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. This “Corn Belt” extends into eastern Nebraska, which is nicknamed the Cornhusker State.
The Missouri River forms part of Nebraska’s eastern border with Iowa. The Platte River flows across Nebraska from west to east, emptying into the Missouri.
Following the Platte River westward, lush cornfields are replaced by grasslands and wheat fields, which stretch on towards Wyoming and Colorado. This is a land of windmills, lone cottonwoods, and shelterbelts—rows of trees planted for protection from the wind.
In north-central Nebraska is North America’s biggest sand dune area, roughly the size of West Virginia. But you won’t see sand dunes, for the sandhills are anchored by grasses. Some dunes are as high as 300 feet and may be separated by valleys ten miles long. Studded with shallow lakes, the sandhills ripple north into South Dakota.
Nebraska is said to be the only state besides North Dakota that doesn’t have a single rock suitable for climbing. Although the Rocky Mountains are depicted on Nebraska’s flag, the highest points in the state are Scottsbluff and Chimney Butte. They were important landmarks for hardy pioneers crossing Nebraska along the Oregon Trail in the 19th century.
Some settlers decided to remain in Nebraska. They planted trees for shelter from the sun and wind. Nebraskans were the first to celebrate Arbor Day, thus the nickname Tree Planters’ State. The old nickname Antelope State became a memory as pronghorns were shot for food or chased away by fences and settlements. Grain fields and trees made the land more attractive to white-tailed deer, today Nebraska’s official state animal.
In Nebraska, where cranes and cattle live side by side, the past meets the present.
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - Paperback
