Near the center of one of the world’s greatest cattle producing areas, the Nebraska Sandhills cover some 13 million acres of deep sands with a high water table exposed in numerous lakes. This great sea of sand was deposited by winds during a desert climate that ended thousands of years ago. Today the sands are grass-covered and stable because of careful management of the native grasses by stockmen, and these natural pastures are acclaimed as the best managed rangeland in the world. Among the scores of native grasses, some of the most common are displayed here. Grasses, available water, and range conservation combine to make the area highly and consistently productive, making it the beef area of the beef state.