2014 Map of Natick

About this map

The Middle Loup River snakes through the Sandhills of Thomas County, carving a narrow valley through the high, undulating dunes of central Nebraska. This landscape is dominated by the Nebraska National Forest, an unconventional woodland established in the early 20th century as part of an effort to create a timber resource in the treeless Great Plains. The small settlement of Natick sits along the Ne-2 highway and the adjacent rail corridor, which both follow the gentle gradient of the river valley. Local travel is facilitated by a network of rural routes including Gaston Rd and Nantick Rd, which navigate the complex topography of the surrounding dunes. The map illustrates the specific boundary where the forest's hand-planted pines meet the natural prairie grasses, a transition that has defined the region's conservation and land-use history for over a century.