PLATTE RIVER

river formed at the city of North Platte, Neb., U.S., by the confluence of the North Platte and South Platte rivers. The Platte proper is 310 miles (500 km) long, but measured from its longest source stream, Grizzly Creek in Colorado (via the South Platte River), the system has a combined length of 990 miles (1,593 km). The Platte flows southeast into a big bend at Kearney, Neb., turns northeast, and empties into the Missouri River at Plattsmouth, 15 miles (24 km) south of Omaha. During the spring runoff, the Platte is a mile wide in many places, but it is almost dry the remainder of the year. The extreme shallowness of the river (named from the French plat, shallow) precludes navigation. The Platte drains an area of 90,000 square miles (233,000 square km). The vast quantities of water diverted for irrigation agriculture and for municipal use are the most significant aspects of the Platte River system. The Loup River is the largest tributary to the Platte.