The Mallet Brothers, French explorers, gave this stream its name in the year 1739, and the name of the North Platte Project followed that of the river which is its source of water supply. The Mallet Brothers were believed to have had Pawnee guides when they visited the river in the vicinity of Kearney. The Pawnee, and also the Omaha,Indian name for the stream, means "Flat Water," which is assumed to have been translated into the French "La Platte" or "Platte." (Reclamation Era 30:9)
Other Names:
Ne Braska, Rio Chato, Riviere Platte, North Fork of the Platte River
County:
Carbon; Natrona; Converse; Platte; Goshen
Feature Category:
Water Features
Description:
River, chiefly in Wyoming and Nebraska, originates at the junction of Grizzly and Little Grizzly Creeks in Jackson County, Colo., ... flowing thence northerly into Wyoming, to the Pathfinder Reservoir, northeast, east, and southeast through former Forts Casper, Fetterman, and Laramie, entering Nebraska ... and continuing southeast to its confluence with the South Platte River to form the Platte River. (Decisions, 1931)
