Smith Falls, at 63 feet (19 m), is the highest

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

in the state of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

and the centerpiece of Smith Falls State Park. The state park and falls are located east-north east of Valentine and 3 miles south west of Sparks, on the south side of the

Niobrara River The Niobrara River (; oma, Ní Ubthátha khe, , literally "water spread-out horizontal-the" or "The Wide-Spreading Water") is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. Many early settlers, such as Mari Sando ...

. Access to the falls is via a

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

across the river from the north side of the park.

History

First known as Arikaree Falls, the waterfall bears the name of Orrin B. Smith, a pioneer in the Seven Creeks area (1885 State Census). His step-son, Frederick Smith will later file for a homestead claim 5 Sept. 1889 on the south side of the river in Section 30. The site was subsequently owned by Fred Krzyzanowski, who purchased it in 1941, adding a picnic area and campground to capitalize on its popularity among tourists. The

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) is the State of Nebraska's State agency charged with stewardship of the state's fish, wildlife, state park, and outdoor recreation resources. The agency is led by a governor-appointed member commission ...

established the Smith Falls State Park through a lease agreement with Krzyzanowski family in 1992. A new 25-year lease was signed in 2018. ;Footbridge In 1996, the historic Verdigre bridge was moved to the park and reconfigured as a footbridge spanning the

. The bridge had been previously located at the mouth of Verdigre Creek, then had been moved to carry traffic on Highway 14 in the village of Verdigre, before being dismantled in 1991, then reassembled as a restored 160-foot-long iron truss span at the park in 1996.

Natural history

The falls are on a short spring-fed stream that plunges into a small canyon on the south side of the Niobrara. As the canyon is narrow and sheltered from direct sunlight, it is much cooler than the surrounding landscape; this allows a unique set of flora to grow that is atypical for the Sand Hills of Nebraska. The canyon is home to

paper birch ''Betula papyrifera'' (paper birch, also known as (American) white birch and canoe birch) is a short-lived species of birch native to northern North America. Paper birch is named for the tree's thin white bark, which often peels in paper like ...

and an endemic hybrid grove of

quaking aspen ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...

and bigtooth aspen. During the

Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cord ...

that ended around 10,000 years ago, north-central Nebraska was much cooler than it is today. The

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

climate supported

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...

trees like birches, spruces, and aspens, all of which currently predominate in Canada. As the glaciers retreated, so did the boreal forest, which is ill-suited for hot, dry summers. However, the cool canyons along the Niobrara sheltered some of these trees. The spruce trees did not survive in Nebraska; the nearest extant population is in the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

. A small population of paper birches and aspens survive, protected by the cool

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...

s of the small canyons that feed into the Niobrara River. The continued survival of these trees is threatened by warming temperatures. The paper birch population around Smith Falls is not currently reproducing, and may soon die out.

Activities and amenities

Smith Falls State Park offers tent camping, canoeing, fishing, hiking, and picnicking facilities.

References

External links

Smith Falls State Park
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
Smith Falls State Park Map
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission {{authority control State parks of Nebraska Landmarks in Nebraska Waterfalls of Nebraska Landforms of Cherry County, Nebraska Protected areas of Cherry County, Nebraska Protected areas established in 1992 1992 establishments in Nebraska