Arikaree Breaks

The Arikaree Breaks are located on the extreme northern edge of Cheyenne County, in the northwestern corner of the state of Kansas. The breaks, with its deep ravines and gullies, is in marked contrast to the plains generally associated with the area. The breaks were formed by wind deposited sand, silt and clay particles, called loess. After deposition, the loess has undergone spectacular processes of head cutting and side wall cutting the advancing tributaries of the Arikaree River and the South Fork of the Republican River. The Arikaree Breaks are 36 miles long and approximately two to three miles wide. They extend into Rawlins county to the east and several miles into Colorado to the west. There are few trees in the rough terrain, but the pasture land has many yucca or soap weed as they are called by the natives. There are two species of sage that grow in the breaks that grow no other place in Kansas and 16 native plants that are listed as "rare" in Kansas. The hills are covered with native grasses, excellent for cattle and wild life. Water is hard to find in some areas so area ranchers have built dams to water their livestock. Wells are often drilled many miles away from the livestock and then piped into the area. There are over 20 miles of plastic pipe lines in use.  There are several public roads through the breaks, giving visitors some outstanding viewing sites of this rugged wonder. Visitors are asked to please respect the land owners by remaining on the public roads.