The Snake River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed March 30, 2011 tributary of the

Niobrara River The Niobrara River (; , , literally "water spread-out horizontal-the" or "The Wide-Spreading Water") is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. Many early settlers, such as Mari Sandoz, referred to the rive ...

. Entirely located within the Sandhills of north-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 ...

, the Snake River rises near the eastern edge of Sheridan County. It flows eastward into Cherry County and passes along the southern edge of Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest. On the southeast edge of the national forest, the river is dammed to form

Merritt Reservoir Merritt Dam is a dam in Cherry County, Nebraska, southwest of Valentine, in the north-central part of the state. The earthen dam impounds the Snake River as it flows along the southern edge of the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest in the ...

. At this point, the river makes a sharp turn to the north. At Burge, the river has a mean annual discharge of . Snake River Falls is immediately to the north of Merritt Reservoir; it is the largest

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

, as measured by volume, in the state. (Nebraska's highest waterfall is

Smith Falls Smith Falls, at 63 feet (19 m), is the highest waterfall in the state of Nebraska and the centerpiece of Smith Falls State Park. The state park and falls are located east-northeast of Valentine and 3 miles southwest of Sparks, on the south s ...

.) The Snake River joins the Niobrara River about southwest of

Valentine, Nebraska Valentine is a city in and the county seat of Cherry County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,737 at the 2010 census. It is the hometown of former vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz. History Valentine was founded in 1882. The ...

References

External links

Snake River Falls
* Rivers of Nebraska Rivers of Cherry County, Nebraska Rivers of Sheridan County, Nebraska {{Nebraska-river-stub

See also

References

External links