[NASA] Nebraska’s Wide, Rolling Domain

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3. Nebraska’s Wide, Rolling Domain

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The Nebraska Sandhills stretch across the north-central part of the state in this image acquired on August 19, 2025, with the

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 (Operational Land Imager) on

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NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin

Editor’s Note: Today’s story is the answer to the 

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The undulating landscape of north-central Nebraska may be easy to overlook among the iconic

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of the world. Far from any coast or desert, the Nebraska Sandhills—comprising the Western Hemisphere’s

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of sand dunes—bring their own brand of beauty and value. Grasslands blanket the rolling hills, providing grazing grounds for livestock, while lakes and wetlands dot the landscape, supporting diverse plant and animal life.

Much of the sand forming the hills

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in the Rocky Mountains. Rivers carried the eroded material down from the mountains and deposited it across the Great Plains during the

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. In times of drought, winds blowing predominantly from the north or south lofted sand out of dried riverbeds, gradually building and shaping dunes. About

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, grassland vegetation stabilized the features. Today, the rippled pattern spans about 20,000 square miles (52,000 square kilometers), about one-quarter of the state of Nebraska.

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Some of the largest, grassland-covered dunes in the Nebraska Sandhills are found in the northwestern part of the region, shown in this image acquired on August 19, 2025, with the

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 (Operational Land Imager) on

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NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin

Some of the largest dunes occur in and around the area shown in the detailed image above, near the northern edge of the Sandhills region. These

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stand as high as 400 feet (120 meters) and extend for several miles. Their northern slopes are gentler than their southern slopes, reflecting the dominant influence of northerly winds. In other areas, dunes are more symmetric, suggesting that winds blew with nearly equal strength from the north and south, alternating with the seasons.  

The grasslands that now cover the hills constitute

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for grazing livestock. Ranching

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significantly in the area after passage of the

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in 1904, which allotted 640-acre parcels of land to ranchers who would settle it. Today, far more cattle than humans occupy the region, and half of Nebraska’s nearly

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of rangeland and pastureland are in the Sandhills. Some ranchers

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in patterns meant to approximate the large bison herds that once roamed the land.

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Lakes and wetlands fill the valleys between dunes in Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, shown in this image acquired on August 19, 2025, with the

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 (Operational Land Imager) on

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NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin

Though much of the land in the Sandhills is privately owned, some is set aside in protected public lands. One of these areas,

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on the southwestern edge of the Sandhills region, is shown above. Wetlands, including shallow lakes, marshes, and

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, fill some of the valleys between the dunes. The land here is

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, with precipitation seeping down through the soil and recharging groundwater instead of flowing off through stream channels.

Located along the

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, the refuge is a haven for migratory birds, and dozens of species of waterfowl, marsh birds, and shorebirds utilize the area. Among other wildlife, several types of

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thrive in the ponds and prairies. Wetlands across the Sandhills support

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such as the whooping crane,

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, and

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NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the 

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. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

Downloads

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August 19, 2025

JPEG (10.71 MB)

References & Resources

• Nebraska Game and Parks,
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  . Accessed June 15, 2026.
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln (2024, October 23)
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  . Accessed June 15, 2026.
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln (2024, October 23)
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  . Accessed June 15, 2026.
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln (2024, October 23)
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  . Accessed June 15, 2026.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
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  . Accessed June 15, 2026.
• USDA Forest Service,
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  . Accessed June 15, 2026.

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