Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 16-26.
Steverson Lake with marsh and wet meadow in the foreground. Part of the Cottonwood-Steverson
Wildlife Management Area of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Located in western Cherry County,
Nebraska, United States; kite aerial photo by S.W. Aber and J.S. Aber.
Figure 16-27.
Remains of potash-processing plant at Antioch, Sheridan County, Nebraska. Photo by J.S. Aber.
the organisms from photo-oxidation (Bleed and
Ginsberg 1990).
In the second decade of the twentieth century
a potash industry l ourished in the westernmost
Nebraska Sand Hills based on the hypersaline
lakes. Brine was pumped from the lakes to
processing plants near railroads, and the chemi-
cals were used for manufacturing fertilizer,
epsom salt, soda, and other products. When
World War I broke out, European sources for
potash were cut off, and western Nebraska
became the most important source in the United
States. At least ten companies operated potash-
extraction plants, each capable of producing
100 tons per day, most in Sheridan County
(Miller 1990). With the end of the war, however,
the companies were unable to compete with
cheaper German potash, and the plants were
shut down in 1920. Few remains of this industry
are preserved today (Fig. 16-27).
16.2.5 Missouri Coteau, southern
Saskatchewan
Southern Saskatchewan, Canada, is part of the
prairie pothole region of recently glaciated
terrain that stretches from central Iowa to south-
ern Alberta covering some 300,000 square
