Platte River

The Platte River /plæt/ (Pawnee: Kíckatusʾ) is a major river in the state of Nebraska and is about 310 mi (500 km) long. Measured to its farthest source via its tributary the North Platte River, it flows for over 1,050 miles (1,690 km). The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itself is a tributary of the Mississippi River which flows to the Gulf of Mexico. 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.

The Platte is one of the most significant tributary systems in the watershed of 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.

River Road

River Road may refer to a location in North America:

Communities:

Highways:

Other uses:

Great Platte River Road

The Great Platte River Road was the convergence point for the Trapper's Trail, the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, the California Trail, the Pony Express route, and the military road from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Laramie across Nebraska. The Road, which extended from the Second Fort Kearny to Fort Laramie, was utilized primarily from 1841 to 1866. Currently regarded as a sort of superhighway of its times, the road has been referred to as "the grand corridor of America's westward expansion."

About

Robert Stuart, an explorer with the Pacific Fur Company, was one of the first European Americans to explore the potential for the Road in the 1810s. Eventually the Road started in several places along the Missouri River, including (from north to south) Omaha, Council Bluffs, Nebraska City, St. Joseph and Kansas City. Each of these separate routes came together near Fort Kearny in the middle of the Nebraska Territory. For those coming from Omaha and Council Bluffs the Road traversed the north side of the river. Those coming from St. Joseph and Kansas City generally used the south side of the river. At some point along the Platte the travellers would cross to the north side, frequently at great hazard, in order to follow the road north to Fort Laramie. In the years of 1849, 1850 and 1852 traffic was so heavy along the Road that virtually all feed was stripped from both sides of the river. The lack of food and the threat of disease made the journey along the Road a deadly gamble. 250,000 travelers followed the Road along the South Platte River during its peak years of 1841 to 1866.

Great Platte River Road Archway Monument

Coordinates: 40°40′11″N 99°02′18″W / 40.669747°N 99.038342°W / 40.669747; -99.038342

The Archway (also known as The Great Platte River Road Archway or Kearney Arch) is a museum of and monument to Nebraska's and the Platte River valley's role in westward expansion. The Archway is directly over Interstate 80 three miles (5 km) east of Kearney, Nebraska.

About

Designed by a Walt Disney team, The Archway spans more than 300 feet over Interstate 80 east of Kearney, Nebraska and weighs nearly 1,500 tons. The Archway takes visitors along the trails, rails, highways and superhighways in a self-guided audio tour that includes stories of the travelers along the way. The show starts in the 1840s with the Mormon Trail, Oregon Trail and California Trail thatconverged at the nearby Fort Kearny before heading west. As visitors progress through the exhibit, the displays of different time periods feature a buffalo stampede, the Mormon Handcart Expedition, gold seekers, the Pony Express, the telegraph, the transcontinental railroad, the Lincoln Highway, a drive-in movie and a 1950s cafe. A new exit (Exit 275) immediately east of The Archway provides easy access. Exit 272 (to Kearney) also provides access to The Archway.

Road

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places that has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by foot or some form of conveyance, including a horse, cart, bicycle, or motor vehicle.

Roads consist of one or two roadways (British English: carriageways), each with one or more lanes and any associated sidewalks (British English: pavement) and road verges.

Roads that are available for use by the public may be referred to as public roads or as highways.

Definitions

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines a road as "a line of communication (travelled way) using a stabilized base other than rails or air strips open to public traffic, primarily for the use of road motor vehicles running on their own wheels," which includes "bridges, tunnels, supporting structures, junctions, crossings, interchanges, and toll roads, but not cycle paths."

In urban areas roads may diverge through a city or village and be named as streets, serving a dual function as urban space easement and route. Modern roads are normally smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel. Historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or maintenance.