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5 wide, braided stream flowing through a level grassy plain. As the Pleistocene winds deposited thick layers of loess and sand over the area, the Platte was kept busy eroding away that material. Underneath those hills that flank the Platte River to its north and south is its original plain. NORTHWESTERN GLACIATED PLAINS In spite of its name, this region, from the South Dakota border to the Elkhorn River and split by the Niobrara River, was not glaciated in its Nebraska segment. North of the Niobrara are the Ponca Plains which are rolling plains that are in a combination of irrigated cropland and rangeland. South of the Niobrara River are the Holt Tablelands. The southern part of the Holt Tablelands is a high, flat tableland that is in irrigated cropland while the northern part is dissected by several stream drainages and is mostly rangeland. In the extreme northeast corner at the mouth of the Niobrara are the Southern River Breaks which are dissected hills and canyons with steep slopes. Major perennial streams include the Niobrara River which has several tributaries on the south side including Verdigre Creek, Eagle Creek and Redbird Creek. To the north of the Niobrara is Ponca Creek. The Elkhorn River, which borders the region on the south, has no tributaries on the north side. NORTHWESTERN GREAT PLAINS The Northwestern Great Plains is a large region in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming with two small widely separated extensions into Nebraska. The easternmost extension is bordered on the south by the Niobrara River and on the north by the Keya Paha River. The northern portion of this area is the Keya Paha Tablelands, an area of rolling hills with some buttes and level plains which is now a mix of rangeland and cropland. To the south, are the Niobrara River Breaks which are dissected canyons with steep slopes and a mix of woodlands that are now mainly used as rangeland. The main perennial streams include the Keya Paha River and its tributaries as well as the Niobrara River and its south-side tributaries, Plum and Long Pine Creeks. Niobrara River tributaries on the north side are very small or intermittent. In the northwestern corner of the state is the other piece of the Northwestern Great Plains. Between the Pine Ridge and the South Dakota border, this is an area of rolling plains known as the Semiarid Pierre Shale Plains. Primarily used as rangeland there is some dryland and irrigated cropland in this area. Streams are the perennial White River, Hat Creek and Soldier Creek with many small tributaries, some of which are perennial in their headwaters but intermittent lower down. On the southwest and on the east of this ecoregion are the White River Badlands. This is a highly dissected and eroded landscape of buttes, escarpments and badlands with intermittent or ephemeral streams