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6 THE NEBRASKA SAND HILLS The Nebraska Sand Hills is the largest region of sand dunes in the Western Hemisphere being some three times the area of Massachusetts. Now stabilized with grasses, the dunes vary from gently rolling to massive features that can be several hundred feet high (see photo below). The Sand Hills were formed during the Wisconsin glaciation during an extensive dry period where winds blew the sand that had been deposited by eastward flowing streams. Originally a mixed grass prairie, it is still a mixed grass prairie which is now rangeland. Several streams originate in this region including the Middle Loup, North Loup, Dismal, Calamus, Cedar and Elkhorn Rivers. One major stream, the Niobrara River, crosses the northern edge of the Sand Hills. The Sand Hills sits on top of the thickest part of the Ogallala Aquifer, a huge underground reservoir of water. It is this aquifer that feeds the streams named above which are well-known as having consistent and uniform flows. Between the dunes are marshes, wetlands and lakes that are connected to the groundwater table. In the western part of the Sand Hills is a closed basin area with many alkaline lakes but no streams. These lakes support alkali-tolerant plants as well as invertebrates like brine shrimp (but no crayfish). WESTERN HIGH PLAINS The Western High Plains extends down the western edge of Nebraska from South Dakota to Kansas. This is a diverse area which includes several Level IV ecoregions that are quite different from each other. What they have in common is a short growing season and low precipitation. Beginning at the north end is the Pine Ridge Escarpment which overlooks the Northwestern Great Plains. It is a steep, rocky area of canyons whose slopes are forested with Ponderosa Pine. Originally a mixed grass prairie, it is mostly used as Sandhills east of Hyannis, Nebraska