Nebraska Archives - Platte Basin Timelapse

Kearney Outdoor Learning Area

by Ethan Freese | Sep 29, 2023 |

Located near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Platte River, this camera views a slough, restored prairie, and riparian forest by Kearney High School in southeastern Kearney, Nebraska. The area was designated the Kearney Outdoor Learning Area (KOLA) in 2016 to serve as an outdoor space for environmental education for Kearney Public Schools and the Central Nebraska Community. This camera provides documentation of landscape change to support experiential learning and public outreach associated with riparian ecosystems.

Latta Lake

by Dakota Altman | Sep 28, 2023 |

This camera has captured the conversion of a cedar-choked landscape back to Sandhills prairie. The Switzer Ranch has been combating the spread of the invasive eastern redcedar through prescribed fire and mechanical removal. Latta Lake was created long ago by a sand dam upstream and has unique hydrology. Its inlet also serves as its outlet, filling up during periods of high water and going completely dry during extended drought.

Mick’s Slide

by Dakota Altman | Sep 28, 2023 |

Located on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, this camera captures the winding stream of a branch of the Middle Loup River as it cuts through the Nebraska Sandhills. “Mick’s Slide” is in the back of the frame and is a blowout of sand in the hillside. “Mick’s Slide” has taught UNL researchers much about the geology and evolution of the Nebraska Sandhills, the largest stabilized sand dune region in the hemisphere.

Wildcat Hills Nature Center

by Ethan Freese | Sep 28, 2023 |

Looking northeast across ponderosa pine woodlands and rocky escarpments, this camera is located at the Wildcat Hills Nature Center, perched high above the North Platte River Valley and the communities of Scottsbluff and Gering, NE. The Wildcat Hills have been carved and shaped through millennia by forces of wind and water, erosion and deposition. It is a rich and biologically diverse ecosystem that contains both eastern and western species. Rising from the plains, their formations served as monumental landmarks for pioneers who trekked west along the North Platte River following the Oregon Trail. They continue to be a sight to behold today. This camera is retired.

Little Salt Creek

by Emily Nelson | Sep 26, 2023 |

Salt Creek and its tributaries drain roughly 1,600 square miles of land area, including Lincoln, Nebraska. This camera looks at Little Salt Creek, which drains Shoemaker Marsh and Arbor Lake, sending water to Salt Creek proper and eventually to the Platte River. Salt seepages and springs are apparent in the frame. This camera was retired after it was lost to floodwaters several years ago.