North Platte River
The North Platte River
The North Platte River is a tributary of the Platte River, approximately 680 mi (1,094 km) long, in the U.S. States of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. It forms the Platte at its confluence with the South Platte River in western Nebraska. The river provides the major avenue of drainage for eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska. Although it is not navigable, it has been an important route of transportation in the westward expansion of the United States, providing the route of several of the major migration trails, including the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail.
The North Platte rises in the North Park valley of north central Colorado, near the town of Walden, on the eastern slope of the Park Range. It flows northward into Wyoming, along the western side of the Medicine Bow Mountains. On the north end of the range it joined by the Medicine Bow River in the Seminoe Reservoir, then by the Sweetwater River in Pathfinder Reservoir. North of the reservoir it flows northeast between the Granite Mountains to the west and the Laramie Mountains to the east.
It emerges from the mountains near Casper, where it flows east, along the northern reach of the Laramie Mountains onto the Great Plains. It flows southeast across the plains of eastern Wyoming, past the town of Douglas and the Fort Laramie National Historic Site, where it is joined by the Laramie River. It crosses into western Nebraska, flowing ESE past the town of Scottsbluff and Northport. In Keith County, the Kingsley Dam forms Lake C.W. McConaughy, the largest lake in Nebraska and significant irrigation and recreation facility for the region. East of the dam it flows nearly parallel to the South Platte, separated by only 5 mi (8km) for a stretch of approximately 50 mi (80 km). It joins the South Platte to form the Platte just east of the city of North Platte.
In Colorado and Wyoming, the river is narrower and much swifter flowing than the lower Platte River in central Nebraska, where it becomes a braided stream. The upper reaches of the river in the Rockies are popular for recreation rafting and fly fishing for rainbow trout and other sport fish.
In addition to the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail, the river provided the route for the Pony Express across western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming. In the late 1860s, the Union Pacific portion of the transcontinental railroad followed its valley. In the 20th century, the Lincoln Highway and later Interstate 80 followed its course.