Nebraska
Syracuse -- 1.. Where do you live (give city, state/province, country, continent)? Syracuse, NE, USA, North America
2.. What interesting places are there to see near you? National Arbor Day Forest in Nebraska City nearby, the Missouri River, the Arch over the Highway 80 west pretty boring, actually the people are great though
3.. What is the climate like where you live? (example: average rainfall, temperatures, variations in weather) Temperature is hot in the summer 90 - 100 degrees F and cold snow and blizzards in the winter. I don't know how much rainfall about 15 - 20 inches per year maybe more it is green with grass and trees growing OK
4.. What is the land like where you live? (example: mountains, plains, etc.) It is plains with "big sky" the cloud formations fascinate me, always changing
5.. Are there any interesting plants or animals in your area? If so, please tell me about them. The sandhill cranes
6.. What items (foods, hi-tech, manufactured items, etc.) are produced in your area? Biggest beef producers in the US, Kawasaki motorcycles, I don't know what all in my town there is a glass tube factory to make vials for medicines
7.. What natural resources are found in your area? wind, there are turbines to produce energy from the wind in Lincoln, NE
Syracuse -- 1. Where we live -- Syracuse, Nebraska, about 30 miles south east of Lincoln
2. Interesting places to see near here -- Most people don't think Nebraska has much to show. We live not too far from the Missouri River which runs between Nebraska and Iowa. The lowest point in our state is in the Southeast corner, about 1500 feet elevation I think. Most people do not realize that the highest location in Nebraska (in the far west of the state), is higher than 5000 feet elevation. The Platte River runs through the center of our state -- it is rather shallow and wide. The saying is, I think, "1/2 mile wide and 2 inches deep" or something like that.
3. Climate here -- Cold winters, down to about 0 to 10 degrees F., but not as much snow as say in Michigan or even Illinois. Warm to hot summers, can go up into upper 90's, top 100 once in a while.
4. What the land is like -- Plains. where we live in Syracuse there are some gently rolling hills. The plains have a beauty of their own, wide open sky. It is a less spectacular, kind of gentle beauty.
5. Interesting plants or animals -- Nothing especially outstanding. Though there is some rare beetle near Lincoln that they are talking about getting Federal protection for. And our state is known for the Sand Hill Crane migration that comes through here each Spring. They stop off near the Platte River in the central part of the state during their migration. Lots of people go to see them.
6. Items produced here -- Lincoln has been the headquarters of the Gallup corporation for years. I think they are planning to move to Omaha though. And of course it is the home of Union College!! A great little college in the heartland, very friendly.
7. Natural resources here -- The rivers -- Platte and Missouri are very important for water and transport (Platte more for water). There is also the Ogallala aquifer underground that provides water for farming. It is a rather large aquifer covering parts of several states I think.
8. Anything else interesting -- Nebraska City, near our town, is the birthplace of
Arbor Day. There were so few trees on the plains back in those days that the people
were really keen on planting trees. Now Lincoln is known for its many trees.
In fact, on the campus of Union College we have part of the state arboretum (a tree
garden), quite beautiful actually.
When the college was started more than 100 years ago, the hill it was built on had few if
any trees at all. Now there are many.
Lincoln -- 1.. Where do you live (give city, state/province, country, continent)? Lincoln, Nebraska; Lincoln is a city of 250,000
2.. What interesting places are there to see near you? State capitol, university, Oregon Mormon Trails on either side of the Platte River, Union College, Pioneer Village museum 175 miles west, Fossil museum, Cornhuskers (football) Stadium; Cattle packing plants, large farm fields growing corn, Milo, wheat, soybeans, and sugar beets in the western part of the state.
3.. What is the climate like where you live? (example: average rainfall, etc.) 22 inches precipitation, temperatures vary from 105 to perhaps minus 10. Weather can vary quickly, because there is no ocean nearby. Very quickly - from 70 at noon to freezing by 5:00 p.m.
4.. What is the land like where you live? (example: mountains, plains, etc.) Plains and rolling country that keeps a cyclist working hard. The north central part of the state has "Sand Hills" like no others in the world - huge sand dunes held in place by grass lands. I think there may be similar sand hills in China.
5.. Are there any interesting plants or animals in your area? If so, please tell me about them. Hemp grows along the country roads, from the days when it was grown for making rope. It can be used for marijuana now, but isn't much.
6.. What items (foods, hi-tech, manufactured items, etc.) are produced in your area? Our University is known for its food laboratory. Good Year and Square D have factories here, and there are large meat packing plants in different parts of the state.
7.. What natural resources are found in your area? Agriculture - although the western part of the state is semi-arid, the agriculture is very productive because they tap into the Ogallala Aquifer - a body of underground water which extends all the way to Texas. Center pivot wells were invented here.
8.. Anything else you think might be of interest. Union College is a
Seventh-day Adventist College which now has about 950 students. There are six SDA
churches in the city.