Nebraska State River

Adopted on February 26, 1998.

On Feb. 26, 1998, Gov. Ben Nelson declared the Platte River to be the official state river. The Platte, formed by the junction of the North Platte and South Platte rivers near the city of North Platte, flows east through central Nebraska into the Missouri River. The stream is 310 miles (500 kilometers) long.

The Platte is too shallow for navigation, but it is an important source of water for farm irrigation, municipal and industrial uses, recreation and hydroelectric power production. The river also provides habitat for sandhill cranes, other migratory birds, fish and other wildlife. Also, the Platte River Valley has been an important east-west human transportation corridor throughout history. The Oregon, Mormon and California trails, the Pony Express route, the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad, the first transcontinental paved highway (US Highway 30) and Interstate 80 all have followed the Platte. Platte River near Cozad