Up in central north Colorado rests
North Park (Colorado basin), a valley ringed by mountains. The headwaters of the river is essentially all of
Jackson County, Colorado whose boundaries are the
continental divide on the west and south and the mountain drainage peaks on the east—the north boundary is the state of Wyoming boundary. The rugged
Rocky Mountains Continental Divide surrounding Jackson County have at least twelve peaks over in height. These peaks include on the west: Mount Zirkel , Lost ranger Peak and Mount Ethel ; on the south: Sheep Mountain and Parkview Mountain —whose waters on the south or east side drain into the North Platte River drainage. On the east are:
Mount Nimbus ,
Mount Cumulus ,
Howard Mountain ,
Mount Cirrus ,
Mount Richthofen ,
Lead Mountain , North Diamond Peak and Clark Peak whose eastern slope waters drain into the North Platte River. channel on the North Platte River in
Goshen County, Wyoming during May 2002
drought conditions along the North Platte River. on the North Platte River In Jackson county the North Platte is joined by several other small streams draining the mountains around the county. Some of these creeks are: Arapaho Creek, Colorado Creek, East Branch Illinois River, Jack Creek, Jewell Lake Trib., Grizzly Creek, Little Grizzly Creek, Norris Creek, North Fork of North Platte River, Rock Creek (Little Willow Ck), South Fork Canadian River, South Fork Michigan River, Willow Creek and in Wyoming the
Encampment River. All these streams are draining the snow melt form the mountains surrounding Jackson County. The North Platte River flows northward from Colorado into Wyoming through the popular rafting site –
Northgate Canyon which is along the western side of the
Medicine Bow Mountains. In Colorado and Wyoming, the river is narrower and much swifter flowing than it is in Nebraska, where it becomes a slow flowing, shallow
braided stream. The upper reaches of the river in the Rockies in Colorado and Wyoming are popular for recreation rafting and
fly fishing on the river and its many tributaries for
rainbow trout and other sport fish. In western Nebraska, the banks and riverbed of the North Platte provide a green oasis amid an otherwise semi-arid region of North America. The river has been dammed several times to form several reservoirs along its course. On the north end of the Park range it is joined by the
Medicine Bow River in the Seminoe Reservoir formed by
Seminoe Dam, further downstream is the
Kortes Reservoir. Still further downstream about above Casper the North Platte is joined by the Sweetwater River to form the
Pathfinder Reservoir. and Gray Reef reservoirs before it hits Casper. Casper was established in 1888 east of the former site of
Fort Caspar, which was built about 1859 during the mass migration along the Oregon, California, Mormon and
Bozeman trails. Near what is now Casper was the location of several ferries that offered passage across the North Platte River during the summer "Trail season" starting about 1847. In 1847, during the first Mormon emigration,
Brigham Young leading the Mormon settlers to
Salt Lake City, Utah established a ferry near present-day Casper known as the Mormon Ferry. The next year the ferry was moved a few miles down river. Soon competing ferries were built. In 1859, Louis Guinard built a toll bridge across the North Platte and a trading post near the original ferry's locations. Before reaching Casper the river turns and flows northeast between the
Granite Mountains to the west and the
Laramie Mountains to the east. The North Platte emerges from the mountains near Casper, where it turns and flows east-southeast, along the northern edge of the Laramie Mountains onto the
Great Plains. The North Platte flows east-southeast across the plains of eastern Wyoming, past the town of
Douglas, Wyoming and through
Glendo and Guernsey Reservoirs. It then flows past the
Fort Laramie National Historic Site (the former site of Fort Laramie), where it is joined by the
Laramie River. The North Platte is joined by Horse Creek flowing in from Wyoming near the Wyoming-Nebraska border as its last significant addition. It crosses into western Nebraska, flowing east-southeast between the cities of
Scottsbluff, Nebraska and
Gering, Nebraska. In
Keith County, Nebraska, the
Kingsley Dam forms
Lake C.W. McConaughy, the largest reservoir in Nebraska and a significant
irrigation and recreation facility for the region. Kingsley Dam, constructed in 1935 to 1941, is located on the east side of
Lake McConaughy in central Keith County, Nebraska, and is the second largest hydraulic fill dam in the world. East of the Kingsley dam the North Platte River flows nearly parallel to the
South Platte River. In many places they are separated by only about 5 mi (8 km) for a stretch of about 50 mi (80 km) before they join to form the Platte River just east of the city of
North Platte, Nebraska. The wagon trails following the south side of the Platte/North Platte River ferried or waded in low water years across the South Platte River in several places to stay on the south side of the North Platte River where the trails were located. Those who later went on to
Denver, Colorado followed the South Platte River trail into Colorado. Historically, the North Platte River used to be up to a mile wide (1.6 km) in many places as evidenced by the old streambed and written records. Today, by the time the North Platte reaches
Paxton, Nebraska it is much smaller due to the extensive water taken from it for irrigation. ==See also==