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Nebraska [nəbræʹskə], abbreviated NE, state of the Midwest in the
United States; 200,000 km2, 1.9 million inhabitants (2018).Nebraska
is located between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains. The capital is
Lincoln.
Nebraska. State Map.
Nature
Nebraska is one of America's prairie states. The land surface gradually
descends from west to southeast down the Missouri River, whose tributary Platte
follows the general slope of the landscape. The western part of Nebraska, which
reaches up to about 1,500 m above sea level, has a plateau-like surface with
occasional protruding residual rocks.
Nebraska. Chimney Rock is a 90-foot-high rock
formation in western Nebraska.
Most of the state, especially in the east, consists of rolling countryside
with loose and sand deposits. Especially in northwestern Nebraska, the landscape
is heavily eroded into difficult-to-reach ravine landscapes, so-called badlands.
The climate is markedly continental. The average temperature in January
varies between −2 °C and −8 ° C, in July between 22 and 26 ° C. The average
rainfall is about 800 mm per year in eastern Nebraska and 400 mm in the far
west. However, temperature and rainfall vary widely from year to year.
Population
Nebraska's colonization, among other things. through Swedish immigrants,
gained momentum in the 1860s after the arrival of the Union Pacific railway, and
already before 1890 the population exceeded 1 million. Since then, the increase
in population has been low; during the 00's just under 1 per cent per year.
About 89 percent are white, and half of the population lives in and around
the major cities of Omaha (443,900 residents, 2016) and Lincoln (277,300
residents) in eastern Nebraska. The state of the rest is sparsely populated, and
the emigration from the agricultural areas is extensive.
The settlement in the countryside is strongly characterized by the original
strict square pattern with 259 ha large squares (1.6 km × 1.6 km). This has its
origins in colonial era land surveying (compare Homestead Act).
Business
Agriculture and agricultural-based industries are Nebraska's main
industries. The most important crops are maize, sorghum, wheat, soybeans and
sugar beets.
Nebraska. Cultivation of soybeans by the city of
Schuyler in southern Nebraska.
Livestock and pig breeding play a big role. Of Nebraska's area, 45 percent is
cultivated land and slightly more is grazing areas (livestock ranches). 1/6 of
the area is irrigated.
The meat industry is of great importance, among other things in Omaha, but
also other food industries (dairy products, canned vegetables and sugar) are
important. Furthermore, there are mechanical and electrical engineering
industries.
Tourism and gastronomy
Nebraska is one of the states in the United States where tourism is least
extensive. The city of Omaha and the capital Lincoln have the most
visitors. Nebraska lacks magnificent scenery but offers a variety of smaller
recreational areas. Only in the northwestern part does the landscape picture
differ by its ravine-like appearance (badlands).
Of interest is the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument on the upper course of
the Niobrara River. Another national monument is Scott Bluff, which is a 200 m
high cliff on the North Platte River. The great expatriate route west, the
Oregon Trail, followed the river, and the cliff was a long-awaited landmark for
travelers of the time. The opportunities to study the colonization era are good
in Nebraska, which has a number of memorials and museums with different aspects
of the settler era.
Nebraska. One of the pony express stations outside
the city of Gothenburg. The city was founded in 1882 by Swedish emigrants.
Of a more modern kind is the Strategic Air Command Museum south of Omaha.
The pioneers' hard work on the Nebraska prairie created a heavy, saturating
and simple food, and large steaks, sausages, ribs, potatoes, vegetables, beans
and pork still characterize the food. Homemade foods such as baked
potatoes with sour cream dressing , oven-fried chicken (breaded
chicken pieces crisp-roasted in the oven), navy beans with ham
hocks are eaten with lots of bread and pie as dessert.
History
Nebraska moved from France to the United States in 1803 as part of the
Louisiana Purchase. The first European settlements were founded in the
1820s. Nebraska became territories in 1854 through the Kansas-Nebraska Act,
gained its present boundaries in 1861 and became the state in 1867. Nebraska
developed rapidly after the Civil War, when many European immigrants moved there
and began to cultivate the large prairie areas.
Politically, Nebraska has been dominated by Republicans, at times even by
agrarian protest movements, but in recent years Democrats have asserted
themselves in state elections.
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