Exit78 Photo of the Day #65
Airboat on the Platte River between Woods Landing Campground (since closed) and Two Rivers State Recreational Area, west of Omaha, Nebraska, June 23, 2007 (Pentax K10D)
In June 2007, on our way home from a visit in Wisconsin, we meandered our way into eastern Nebraska and camped at an RV park on the Platte River near Omaha. The Platte is a shallow stream over almost all of it’s length. We were actually wading it it when we saw the first of several airboats come roaring up the river and then, a bit later, roaring back down the river.
We had never seen airboats in use, so they were somewhat fascinating to watch. Flat-bottom vessels used in marshy or very shallow areas where standard boat motors are impractical, they are very loud, propelled by an aircraft-type propeller and powered by either an aircraft or automotive engine.
The Platte River
The Platte is a major river for Nebraska and a significant tributary for the Missouri, draining a large portion of the central Great Plains in Nebraska and the eastern Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wyoming. The river valley played an important role in the westward expansion of the United States, providing the route for several major emigrant trails, including the Oregon, California, Mormon and Bozeman trails. The first Europeans to see the Platte were French explorers and fur trappers about 1714; they first called it the Nebraskier (Nebraska), a transliteration of the name given by the Otoe people, meaning “flat water”. This expression is very close to the French words “rivière plate” (“flat river”), the suspected origin of the name Platte River.
The Platte over most of its length is a muddy, broad, shallow, meandering stream with a swampy bottom and many islands—a braided stream. These characteristics made it too difficult for canoe travel, and it was never used as a major navigation route by European-American trappers or explorers.
Series notes:
- The photos in this series are (usually) randomly selected from a batch of photos specifically “curated” for Exit78 Photo of the Day.
- Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.
