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Nebraska Centennial Streamgage
Platte River at Duncan (06774000)

Sections: Home | Timeline:
Highlights at the Platte River at Duncan streamgage since 1895.Timeline | Historic photos:
View historic pictures of the Platte River at Duncan.Historic photos | NWIS data
USGS's National Water Information System.NWIS data | Trends:
View hydrologic trends.Trends | O.V.P. Stout:
O.V.P. Stout establishes a streamgage and is a pioneer in water science.O.V.P. Stout | Directions to site:
Here are directions and maps to the Duncan siteDirections to site

Historical Timeline

It has actually been more than 100 years since the USGS streamgage was established by Oscar Van Pelt Stout on June 4, 1895. The station was originally funded by Federal dollars, referred to as a "Federal Base Station," but maintained in cooperation with the State engineer. The gage was originally located at Meridian bridge, about 5 miles above the mouth of the Loup River, about 10 miles below the mouth of Prairie Creek, and about 3 miles south of Columbus, Nebraska. The gage was stationed on the left side of the bank (looking downstream) and about 75 feet upstream of the bridge. This section of the river drains almost 57,000 square miles.

After surface-water diversions for irrigation were approved on Sept. 1, 1912, it was not unusual for the river bed to run dry in the late summer and fall. Even prior to that, however, hydrographer notes indicated the river "usually goes dry sometime in August." In 1910, for example, hydrographer Arthur Dobson noted that the river had been dry all season, except for one small channel directly under the gage.

It was not unusual to have "citizen" hydrographers take reading from streamgages. In the very early days of this gage, George E. Barnum and Gottlieb Klaus, both farmers, would take discharge measurements twice a day. When they had a week's worth of readings, they would send the data in to Oscar Van Pelt Stout, with the U.S. Geological Survey, who would compile and archive the data.

The river is composed of three channels at this gage, called the main, middle, and south channels, with the gage located on the main channel. The bed of the river consists of dramatically shifting sand. Measurements were taken from the bridge that spanned the channels.