Nebraska Panhandle

Map of Nebraska highlighting the Panhandle

The Nebraska Panhandle is an area in the western part of the state of Nebraska and one of several U.S. state panhandles, or elongated geographical regions that extend from their main political entity.

The Nebraska panhandle is two-thirds as broad as the rest of the state. It is approximately 100 miles east to west and 125 miles north to south. The Nebraska panhandle roughly encompasses the area in Nebraska between 102° and 104°W longitude and 41° and 43°N latitude. It comprises eleven counties with a combined land area of 14,180.76 square miles (36,728.0 km²), or about 18.45 percent of the state's land. Its population as of the 2010 Census was 87,789 inhabitants, or about 4.70 percent of the state's population. Its largest city is Scottsbluff, in the west-central part of the area.

History

Nebraska voluntarily gave up its southwestern corner to Colorado because the mountainous terrain of the territory was not suited for railroads, and miners working in the mountains were widely seen as an rowdy bunch and a threat to the farming way of life.^[1]

Counties

Cities and Towns

Major cities in the Nebraska panhandle include:

• Alliance
• Chadron
• Kimball
• Scottsbluff - Gering
• Sidney
• Bridgeport

Population shifts

As part of a general trend in migration from rural to metropolitan areas, most counties in the Nebraska panhandle have seen population decreases in recent decades; however, Scotts Bluff, Dawes, and Cheyenne counties increased their populations from the years 1990 to 2000 and again from 2000 to 2010.^[2] While out-migration from the Panhandle exceeds in-migration, a study coordinated by the University of Nebraska at Lincoln surveyed and interviewed a sample of newcomers to the region in order to understand their demographic makeup and reasons for relocation. Results indicated that in-migrants to the Nebraska panhandle were on average younger and had higher average incomes and educational levels than other area residents; in-migrants cited a "simpler pace of life," reduced congestion, and lower costs of living among their reasons for relocation.^[3]

Points of Interest

The Nebraska panhandle has a great deal of geographical and geological diversity; the region itself is made up of several smaller areas. Areas, features, and sites of interest in the Nebraska panhandle include:

• Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
• Carhenge
• Sandhills
• Chimney Rock
• Fort Robinson
• Pine Ridge
• Toadstool Geologic Park
• Scotts Bluff National Monument
• Wildcat Hills
• North Platte River

The Nebraska panhandle borders the states of South Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado.

See also

• List of airports in the Nebraska Panhandle

References

External links

• Nebraska Panhandle travel guide from Wikivoyage

State of Nebraska Lincoln (capital) Topics History Governors Lt. Governors Legislature Speakers of the Legislature People Geography Congressional districts maps Visitor attractions Society Crime Culture Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Dissected Till Plains Grand Island metropolitan area Lincoln metropolitan area Omaha metropolitan area Panhandle Pine Ridge Rainwater Basin Sandhills Siouxland Wildcat Hills Largest cities Alliance Beatrice Bellevue Columbus Fremont Gering Grand Island Hastings Kearney La Vista Lexington Lincoln McCook Norfolk North Platte Omaha Papillion Scottsbluff South Sioux City York Counties Adams Antelope Arthur Banner Blaine Boone Box Butte Boyd Brown Buffalo Burt Butler Cass Cedar Chase Cherry Cheyenne Clay Colfax Cuming Custer Dakota Dawes Dawson Deuel Dixon Dodge Douglas Dundy Fillmore Franklin Frontier Furnas Gage Garden Garfield Gosper Grant Greeley Hall Hamilton Harlan Hayes Hitchcock Holt Hooker Howard Jefferson Johnson Kearney Keith Keya Paha Kimball Knox Lancaster Lincoln Logan Loup Madison McPherson Merrick Morrill Nance Nemaha Nuckolls Otoe Pawnee Perkins Phelps Pierce Platte Polk Red Willow Richardson Rock Saline Sarpy Saunders Scotts Bluff Seward Sheridan Sherman Sioux Stanton Thayer Thomas Thurston Valley Washington Wayne Webster Wheeler York

Coordinates: 42°N 103°W / 42°N 103°W / 42; -103 (Nebraska Panhandle)