The Loup River (pronounced /lup/) is a tributary of the
Platte River, approximately long, in central
Nebraska
Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The river drains a sparsely populated rural agricultural area on the eastern edge of the
Great Plains
The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...
southeast of the
Sandhills. The name of the river means "wolf" in
French, named by early
French trappers after the
Skidi band of the
Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language:
* Pawnee people
* Pawnee language
Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States:
* Pawnee, Illinois
* Pawnee, Kansas
* Pawnee, Missouri
* Pawnee City, Nebraska
* ...
, whose name means "Wolf People," and who lived along its banks. The river and its tributaries, including the North Loup, Middle Loup, and South Loup, are known colloquially as "the Loups", comprising over 1800 mi (2900 km) of streams and draining approximately one-fifth of Nebraska.
Course
The river is formed in eastern
Howard County, approximately northeast of
St. Paul and north of
Grand Island, by the confluence of the North Loup and Middle Loup rivers. It flows east-northeast, past
Fullerton, where it is joined from the north by the
Cedar River. It continues east-northeast roughly parallel to the Platte, past
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
, separated from the Platte by approximately 15 mi (24 km). It joins the Platte from the northwest approximately southeast of
Columbus.
A diversion dam southwest of Genoa diverts water to the
Loup Canal to
hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
facilities in
Monroe and then in
Columbus. The canal then runs into the Platte a short distance below its confluence with the Loup.
Discharges
See also
*
Twin Bridge (Brownlee, Nebraska)
*
List of Nebraska rivers
*
French colonization of the Americas
France began colonizing America in the 16th century and continued into the following centuries as it established a colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere. France established colonies in much of eastern North America, on several Caribbean is ...
*
Mormon Trail
The Mormon Trail is the route from Illinois to Utah on which Mormon pioneers (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) traveled from 1846 to 1869. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails Syst ...
References
External links
Trail of the Loup (1906)
{{authority control
Rivers of Nebraska
Rivers of Platte County, Nebraska
Rivers of Nance County, Nebraska
Rivers of Merrick County, Nebraska
Rivers of Howard County, Nebraska
Rivers of Colfax County, Nebraska
Tributaries of the Platte River