The Loup River in Nebraska, showing the North and South Loup rivers
This article is on the Loup River in Nebraska, USA; for information on the Loup River in southeast France, see Loup River (France).
The Loup River (pronounced /lup/) is a tributary of the Platte River, approximately 68 mi (109 km) long, in central Nebraska in the United States. The river drains a sparsely populated rural agricultural area on the eastern edge of the Great Plains southeast of the Sand Hills. The name of the river means "wolf" in French, named by early French trappers after the Skiri or Skidi band of the Pawnee, who called themselves the "Wolf People," and lived along its banks. The river and its tributaries, including the North Loup, Middle Loup, and South Loup, are known colloquially as "the Loups", comprising over 1800 mi (2900 km) of streams and draining approximately one-fifth of Nebraska.
The river is formed in eastern Howard County, approximately 5 mi (8 km) northeast of St. Paul and 20 mi (32 km) north of Grand Island, by the confluence of the North Loup and Middle Loup rivers. It flows ENE, past Fullerton, where it is joined from the north by the Cedar River. It continues ENE roughly parallel to the Platte, past Genoa, separated from the Platte by approximately 15 mi (24 km). It joins the Platte from the northwest approximately 4 mi (6.4 km) southeast of Columbus.
A diversion dam southwest of Genoa supplies water by canal to nearby hydroelectric facilities.
Diversion facilities are on the Calamus and North LoupRivers.
However, the LoupRiver area remained unsettled until the late 1860's From the beginning, the farmers were plagued with invasions of grasshoppers and other pests, but the greatest deterrents to stability in the agricultural economy were insufficient rainfall and recurring droughts.
The Twin Loups Reclamation District, organized in 1954, and the Twin Loups Irrigation District, organized in 1958, were formed as legal entities of the State of Nebraska to operate the North Loup Division.
The river otter (Lutra canadensis), found in all major waterways of the United States and Canada, is native to Nebraska and was commonly reported in journals of early explorers of this area.
The river otter is the largest member of the Mustelidae family which, in Nebraska, includes the mink, weasels, skunks and badger.
For the river otter, the goal is to restore a self-sustaining statewide population.
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