Chimney Rock, Nebraska

Chimney Rock, Nebraska, was a much-depended-upon landmark for westward-bound pioneers. Catching sight of it assured them they had not ventured away from their path. It guided travelers along the California, Oregon, and Mormon Pioneer Trails, as well as the Pony Express route.

     Chimney Rock did not "grow" from the ground. After massive amounts of sediments had come to rest in the region, they hardened into rock piled so high that the ground level elevation increased to over a thousand feet higher than the prairies you see surrounding Chimney Rock today. Wind and water eroded away most of that colossal thickness of rock but have not yet completely eroded Chimney Rock, which is all that's left from the rocky thickness that once occupied the area, except for a few buttes and bluffs such as Scotts Bluff. In time, however, those remnants, including Chimney Rock, will disappear, too—a result of the destructive forces of wind and water.

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