History & Culture
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For Kids & Teachers
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Agate Fossil Beds National Monument - Harrison, NE | |
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During the 1890s, scientists rediscovered what the Lakota Sioux already knew - bones preserved in one of the most complete Miocene mammal sites in the world. Yet, Agate is a landscape that reflects many players - from early animals roaming the valleys and hills, to tribal nations calling the High Plains home, to explorers and ranchers passing through or settling in the American West. |
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California National Historic Trail - Various States, CA,CO,ID,KS,MO,NE,NV,OR,UT,WY | |
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The road to California carried over 250,000 gold-seekers & farmers to the gold fields & rich farmlands of California during the 1840's and 1850's - the greatest mass migration in American history. More than 1,000 miles of trail ruts and traces can still be seen in the vast undeveloped west – reminders of the sacrifices, struggles, and triumphs of early American travelers and settlers. |
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Homestead National Monument of America - Beatrice, NE | |
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The cry was FREE LAND! The Homestead Act of 1862 was one of the most significant and enduring events in the westward expansion of the United States. By granting free land to claimants, it allowed nearly any man or woman a chance to live the American dream of owning their own land. Visit the park and gain understanding on how the Act changed the lives of all Americans and the land. More... |
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Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail - Eleven States: , ID,IL,IA,KS,MO,MT,NE,ND,OR,SD,WA | |
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Between May 1804 and September 1806, 32 men, one woman, and a baby traveled from the plains of the Midwest to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. They called themselves the Corps of Discovery. In their search for a water route to the Pacific Ocean, they opened a window onto the west for the young United States. |
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Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail - Various States, IL,IA,NE,UT,WY | |
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Led by Brigham Young, roughly 70,000 Mormons traveled along the Mormon Trail from 1846 to 1869 in order to escape religious persecution. The Pioneer Company of 1846-1847 established a route from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah, covering about 1,300 miles that would include construction of new ferries and bridges, and the placement of markers for others to follow. |
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Niobrara National Scenic River - Valentine, NE | |
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The Niobrara River drains over 12,000 square miles of the Sandhills, one of the largest stabilized dunefields in the world. Take a leisurely float on this outstanding Great Plains river in north-central Nebraska. You'll be pleasantly surprised to see pine-clad hills and prairie, numerous waterfalls, tall sandstone cliffs and wildlife like deer, bison, elk, beaver, mink, herons and kingfishers. |
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Oregon National Historic Trail - Various States, ID,KS,MO,NE,OR,WY | |
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As the harbinger of America's westward expansion, the Oregon Trail was the pathway to the Pacific for fur traders, gold seekers, missionaries and others. Today, more than 2,000 miles of trail ruts and traces can still be seen in the vast undeveloped western lands - reminders of the sacrifices, struggles, and triumphs of early American travelers and settlers. |
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Pony Express National Historic Trail - Various States, CA,CO,KS,MO,NE,NV,UT,WY | |
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The Pony Express NHT was used by young men on fast horses to carry the nation's mail from Missouri to California in the unprecedented time of only ten days. The relay system became the nation's most direct and practical means of east-west communications before the telegraph, and it played a vital role in aligning California with the Union in the years just before the Civil War. |
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Scotts Bluff National Monument - Gering, NE | |
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Towering eight hundred feet above the North Platte River, Scotts Bluff has been a natural landmark for many peoples, and it served as the path marker for those on the Oregon, California, Mormon, and Pony Express Trails. Scotts Bluff National Monument preserves 3,000 acres of unusual land formations which rise over the otherwise flat prairieland below. |