All About Nebraska
Nebraska is a constituent state of the United States of America. The Missouri River forms the eastern boundary with Iowa and Missouri and about a fourth of the northern boundary with South Dakota. The southern boundary with Kansas was established when the two territories were created by the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854, legislation that heightened the sectional hostilities which exploded into the Civil War. A majority of Nebraskans today live close to the Missouri and Platte Rivers, leaving much of the state's 77,355 square miles (200,350 square kilometres) lightly populated. Lincoln, in the southeastern part of the state, is the capital.
One of the west central states of the United States, Nebraska during the first 60 years of the 19th century was primarily a water and land route to the rich trapping country to the north and west and the settlement and mining frontiers of the mountain and Pacific regions. With the development of railroads after the Civil War and the consequent immigrations, however, the excellent soils of Nebraska were plowed, and its grasslands gave rise to a range cattle industry. As a result, the state has been, almost since its admission to the Union on March 1, 1867, as the 37th state, a major producer of food commodities.
Rivers have been important to Nebraska's geography and settlement. The Missouri was a major highway to the trans-Mississippi West in the early 19th century. Although less well known, the Platte River has also played a significant role in Nebraska's history. In fact, the name Nebraska is derived from an Indian word meaning ''flat water,'' a reference to the Platte, which served as a magnet for urban clusters across the state. The river is formed by the confluence of the North and South Platte rivers, both of which rise in Colorado on the southwest, although the North Platte swings northward through Wyoming, on the west, before entering Nebraska.
Nebraska comprises parts of two physiographic regions, the till plains of the Central Lowland (in the eastern third) and the Great Plains. The elevation rises from a minimum of 840 feet (256 metres) above sea level in the southeast to a maximum of 5,426 feet (1,654 metres) near the Colorado–Wyoming boundaries. Much of the land is gently rolling prairie, although the river valleys, much of south central Nebraska, and a large portion of the panhandle district are flatlands. The Sand Hills country of north central and northwestern Nebraska is a vast, treeless, grass-covered region that comprises almost one-fourth of the area of the state.
Nebraska's economic development is heavily dependent upon private investment from outside its borders. The state Department of Economic Development was established in 1967 to bring new industry to Nebraska. In addition, a law passed in 1987 provides tax incentives for the development of business and industry. Wholesale and retail trade and other services, manufacturing, transportation, and agriculture are the major sources of income. The state generally has been conservative in labour matters and ranks low nationally in the percentage of unionized nonagricultural workers. Nebraska has a right-to-work law that forbids compulsory union membership.
Various folk observances, such as the Czech Festival at Wilber, are reminders of the diverse origins of the people of Nebraska. Ogallala, a roaring cow town during the 1870s and '80s, relives its colourful past with its Front Street festivities held each summer. Each October the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben (Nebraska spelled in reverse), an Omaha civic organization founded in 1895, crown a king and a queen of Quivira. This event commemorates the search through the plains in 1541 of the Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado for the legendary Seven Golden Cities of Cibola and the Kingdom of Quivira. The University of Nebraska gridiron-football team has attained national prominence, and few subjects hold the attention of Nebraskans as do the fortunes of the Cornhuskers. The benefits derived from the citizens' enthusiasm for football are important in the state's economy. Recreational areas include several state parks, the Nebraska National Forest, and the Oglala National Grassland.
Nebraska is located on some of the most important arteries linking the East and West. Within the state traffic in the east tends to flow toward Omaha, Lincoln, and Sioux City, Iowa, and toward the cities in the Platte valley. Much of western Iowa lies within the trading area of metropolitan Omaha. Nebraska has a good network of modern highways. The most important route is Interstate Highway 80, which carries heavy traffic east–west across the state. Several railroads also operate in the state, and both Omaha and Lincoln are served by Amtrak. Omaha is an important port for commercial barge traffic on the Missouri. Air carriers serving Nebraska include both major national lines and those that provide ''feeder'' service to the smaller communities of the state.
