NEBRASKA QUICK FACTS Name Nebraska is a translation of an Otoe Native American word that means flat water referring to the Platte River State Capital Lincoln population 272,996 Date of Statehood March 1 1867 37th state Population 1,896,190 37th-most populous state Area Total Land and Water 77,348 square miles 200,330 sq km 16th-largest state Largest City Omaha population 446,599 Nickname The Cornhusker State Motto Equality Before the Law State Bird Western Meadowlark 6 NEBRASKA
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA State Flower Goldenrod State Gemstone Blue Chalcedony State Tree Cottonwood State Song Beautiful Nebraska Highest Point Panorama Point 5,424 feet 1,653 m Lowest Point Missouri River at Richardson County 840 feet 256 m Average July High Temperature 88 F 31 C Record High Temperature 118 F 48 C in Minden on July 24 1936 Average January Low Temperature 14 F 10 C Record Low Temperature 47 F 44 C in Oshkosh on December 22 1989 Average Annual Precipitation 24 inches 61 cm Number of U S Senators 2 Number of U S Representatives 3 U S Presidents Born in Nebraska Gerald Ford 38th president U S Postal Service Abbreviation NE Missouri River Gerald Ford QUICK FACTS 7
NEBRASKA GEOGRAPHY Nebraska Nebraska is part of the Great Plains region of the United States It is also part of the Midwest It is the 16th-largest state It is shaped roughly like a rectangle with a panhandle in the northwest corner Nebraska is approximately 210 miles 338 km from north to south and about 430 miles 692 km from east to west A plain is an area of flat land with scarce trees In Nebraska there are some areas with rolling hills but it is mostly level ground Much of the state’s prairie soil is good for farming especially the eastern two-thirds In the semi-arid western third of Nebraska the land is better suited for raising cattle Much of western Nebraska is better suited for raising cattle 8 NEBRASKA
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SOUTH DAKOTA 0 0 100 miles 100 km WYOMING NEBRASKA North Platte River COLORADO North Platte 80 Grand Island 80 MISSOURI KANSAS MINNESOTA IOWA Omaha Lincoln Nebraska’s total land and water area is 77,348 square miles 200,330 sq km It is the 16th-largest state The state capital is Lincoln GEOGRAPHY 9
