The
Niobrara River is a tributary of the
Missouri RiverThe Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
, approximately 568 miles (914.1 km) long, running through the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s of
WyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
and
NebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. The river drains one of the most arid sections of the
Great PlainsThe Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, and has a low flow for a river of its length. The Niobrara's watershed includes a small south-central section of
South DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
as well as the northern tier of Nebraska and a tiny area of eastern Wyoming.
Course
The river rises in the
High PlainsThe High Plains are a subregion of the Great Plains mostly in the Western United States, but also partly in the Midwest states of Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota, generally encompassing the western part of the Great Plains before the region reaches the Rocky Mountains...
of Wyoming, in southern
Niobrara County. The Niobrara flows east as an intermittent stream past
LuskLusk is a town in Niobrara County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,447 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Niobrara County. The town was laid out in June 1886 by engineers working on the Wyoming Central Railway. It was named after Frank S...
and southeast into northwestern
NebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. It then flows southeast across the
Pine RidgeThe Pine Ridge is an escarpment between the Niobrara River and the White River in far northwestern Nebraska...
country of
Sioux County-National protected areas:* Agate Fossil Beds National Monument* Nebraska National Forest * Oglala National Grassland -Demographics:...
, then east through
Agate Fossil Beds National MonumentAgate Fossil Beds National Monument is a U.S. National Monument near Harrison, Nebraska. The main features of the Monument are a valley of the Niobrara River, and the fossils found on Carnegie Hill and University Hill....
, past
MarslandMarsland is an unincorporated community in southwestern Dawes County, Nebraska, United States. It lies on the Niobrara River along Nebraska Highways 2 and 71, southwest of the city of Chadron, the county seat of Dawes County. Its elevation is 4,160 feet . Although Marsland is...
, and through Box Butte Reservoir. The stream flows east across northern Nebraska, near the northern edge of the Sandhills and past
Valentine-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,820 people, 1,209 households, and 733 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,401.1 people per square mile . There were 1,373 housing units at an average density of 682.2 per square mile...
. It is joined by the
Snake RiverThe Snake River is a tributary of the Niobrara River. Entirely located within the Sandhills of north-central Nebraska, the Snake River rises near the eastern edge of Sheridan County. It flows eastward into Cherry County and passes along the southern edge of Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest. ...
about 13 miles (20.9 km) southwest of Valentine. In north-central Nebraska it is joined by the
Keya Paha RiverThe Keya Paha River is a river flowing through the U.S. states of South Dakota and Nebraska.The name is derived from the Dakota language ke'-ya pa-ha, meaning "turtle hill"...
approximately 6 miles (10 km) west of
ButteButte is a village in Boyd County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 366 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Boyd County.- Geography :Butte is located at ....
. The river joins the
MissouriThe Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
northwest of
NiobraraNiobrara is a village in Knox County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 370 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Niobrara is located at ....
in northern
Knox County-History:The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through the area on 4 September 1804.The US Treaty with the Ponca tribe was signed at White Paint Creek on 9 June 1825.Knox County was formed in 1854. It was named after Major General Henry Knox.-Demographics:...
. Its total drainage basin is about 11580 mi2.
76 miles (122.3 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 RiverThe Niobrara National Scenic River is located in north-central Nebraska, United States, approximately 300 miles northwest of Omaha. In 1991, Congress set aside 76 miles along two stretches of the Niobrara River for preservation under the management of the National Park Service with assistance...
.
Discharge
The river's average discharge is 1718 cuft/s at
Verdel, NebraskaVerdel is a village in Knox County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 58 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Verdel is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....
. The highest flow recorded was 39100 cuft/s on March 27, 1960. The lowest daily mean was 102 cuft/s on November 13, 1960.
History
The lower Niobrara valley is the traditional home of the
PoncaThe Ponca are a Native American people of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan-language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma...
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 TerritoryThe Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
.
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
HoedownA Hoedown is a type of American folk dance or square dance in duple meter, and also the musical form associated with it.-Overview:The most popular sense of the term is associated with Americans in rural or southeastern parts of the country, particularly Appalachia. It is a dance in quick movement...
in Niobrara. The Niobrara is mentioned in
Jack KerouacJean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
's song
Home I'll Never Be or in Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich book
The Sons of Great BearThe Sons of Great Bear is a German language Red Western of 1966, directed by Josef Mach. The main characters are based on the books of Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich with the same name, which have been very successful, especially in East Germany...
.
See also