Nebraska’s Wide, Rolling Domain

Editor's Note: Today's story is the answer to the June Puzzler . The undulating landscape of north-central Nebraska may be easy to overlook among the iconic dune fields of the world. Far from any coast or desert, the Nebraska Sandhills—comprising the Western Hemisphere’s largest system of sand dunes—bring their own brand of beauty and value. Grasslands blanket the rolling hills, providing grazing grounds for livestock, while lakes and wetlands dot the landscape, supporting diverse plant and animal life. Much of the sand forming the hills originated in the Rocky Mountains. Rivers carried the eroded material down from the mountains and deposited it across the Great Plains during the Pleistocene . In times of drought, winds blowing predominantly from the north or south lofted sand out of dried riverbeds, gradually building and shaping dunes. About 3,500 years ago , grassland vegetation stabilized the features. Today, the rippled pattern spans about 20,000 square miles (52,000 square kilometers), about one-quarter of the state of Nebraska. Some of the largest dunes occur in and around the area shown in the detailed image above, near the northern edge of the Sandhills region. These transverse dunes stand as high as 400 feet (120 meters) and extend for several miles. Their northern slopes are gentler than their southern slopes, reflecting the dominant influence of northerly winds. …