The Rainwater Basin is a broad wetland region in south-central Nebraska made up of scattered shallow depressions on a loess plain south of the Platte River. Historically, thousands of ephemeral playa wetlands filled from rain, snow, and runoff, changing in size or drying up with shifting precipitation. These wetlands preserve the outline of a much older buried landscape. Since settlement, about 90 percent have been lost to agricultural development, but publicly owned sites and the Rainwater Basin Wetland Management District still protect important habitat. The region remains one of Nebraska’s most important bird stopovers, supporting millions of migratory birds along the Central Flyway.

Kearney, Nebraska · USA