Editing Fillmore County, Nebraska (section)

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau|US Census Bureau]], the county has an area of {{convert|577|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|575|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|1.2|sqmi}} (0.2%) is water.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_31.txt|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=December 7, 2014|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113024152/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_31.txt|archive-date=November 13, 2013}}</ref>

The county lies within the watershed of the [[Big Blue River (Kansas)|Big Blue River]]. Water in the county drains via the West Fork of the Big Blue; via Turkey Creek, which runs into the Big Blue near [[De Witt, Nebraska]]; and via the Little Blue, which joins the Big Blue in Kansas.<ref name=watershed/>

Fillmore County lies within the eastern portion of Nebraska's [[loess]] plain, a region of soil deposited by the wind between 25,000 and 13,000 years ago, forming a plain that slopes to the southeast. The Big Blue and its tributaries have incised channels into the loess surface in places, but in much of the county the original plain remains. These loess-plain regions are characterized by extensive upland flats with shallow depressions, lined with fine-grained and relatively impermeable silt, and tend to form shallow ephemeral wetlands when filled with rain or snowmelt; such wetlands range in area from less than {{convert|40|acre}} to more than {{convert|500|acre}}.<ref name=loess/>

The county's surface is underlain by [[Cretaceous]] sedimentary bedrock, topped with unconsolidated [[Quaternary]] sediments. The bedrock was eroded into hills and valleys before the deposition of the overlying sediments, so the thickness of the latter varies. The unconsolidated sediments range in thickness from {{convert|60|to|450|ft}}; they form an aquifer whose saturated zone ranges in thickness from {{convert|20|to|350|ft}}.<ref name=aquifer/>

===Adjacent counties===
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* [[York County, Nebraska|York County]]  – north
* [[Seward County, Nebraska|Seward County]] – northeast
* [[Saline County, Nebraska|Saline County]] – east
* [[Jefferson County, Nebraska|Jefferson County]] – southeast
* [[Thayer County, Nebraska|Thayer County]] – south
* [[Nuckolls County, Nebraska|Nuckolls County]] – southwest
* [[Clay County, Nebraska|Clay County]] – west
* [[Hamilton County, Nebraska|Hamilton County]] – northwest
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===Protected areas===
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* Bluebill State Wildlife Management Area<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bluebill+State+Wildlife+Management+Area,+Grafton,+NE+68365/@40.6366771,-97.7074321,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x8797614bfa8d64e7:0x4afa0751b9be56d7!8m2!3d40.6374786!4d-97.7022988 ''Bluebill State Wildlife Management Area, Grafton NE''  Google Maps (accessed 20 January 2019)]</ref>
* Marsh Hawk State Wildlife Management Area<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Marsh+Hawk+State+Wildlife+Management+Area,+Grafton,+NE+68365/@40.6367424,-97.7261796,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x8797616af62d8433:0x2499b8e88d4a0b49!8m2!3d40.6385483!4d-97.7240183 ''Marsh Hawk State Wildlife Management Area, Grafton NE''  Google Maps (accessed 20 January 2019)]</ref>
* Morphy Lagoon National Wildlife Management Area<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Morphy+Lagoon+National+Wildlife+Mgt+Area/@40.5660208,-97.7452209,12z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x87977003e1f0c269:0xa8c6917afbe782c1!2sFillmore+County,+NE!3b1!8m2!3d40.4710119!4d-97.5247243!3m4!1s0x8797622e9151d795:0x36b4be8ac5504802!8m2!3d40.6130403!4d-97.7470779 ''Morphy Lagoon National Wildlife Mgt Area''  Google Maps (accessed 20 January 2019)]</ref>
* Rauscher Lagoon National Wildlife Management Area<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rauscher+Lagoon+National+Wildlife+Management+Area,+Grafton,+NE+68365/@40.5882416,-97.7643892,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x87976243181f8d07:0x5ff220461d051d49!8m2!3d40.5882108!4d-97.7593267 ''Rauscher Lagoon National Wildlife Management Area, Grafton NE''  Google Maps (accessed 20 January 2019)]</ref>
* Redhead Wildlife Management Area<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Redhead+Wildlife+Management+Area,+Shickley,+NE+68436/@40.4339215,-97.8235419,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x8799d5c8f4c5f1ef:0xa2f5c1847f2cf9ae!8m2!3d40.4336184!4d-97.8204791 ''Redhead Wildlife Management Area, Shickley NE''  Google Maps (accessed 20 January 2019)]</ref>
* Rolland Lagoon National Wildlife Management Area<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rolland+Lagoon+N+w+M+A,+Sutton,+NE+68979/@40.5897883,-97.8238362,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x8799d8e6460801a7:0xd7a0d264ca0cfe08!8m2!3d40.5903908!4d-97.8204791 ''Rolland Lagoon N w M A, Sutton NE ''  Google Maps (accessed 20 January 2019)]</ref>
* Sandpiper State Wildlife Management Area<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sandpiper+State+Wildlife+Management+Area,+Geneva,+NE+68361/@40.4990742,-97.7189087,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x87977003e1f0c269:0xa8c6917afbe782c1!2sFillmore+County,+NE!3b1!8m2!3d40.4710119!4d-97.5247243!3m4!1s0x87977c8a0024c291:0xd1b06482c5f6eb31!8m2!3d40.5001367!4d-97.7158727 ''Sandpiper State Wildlife Management Area, Geneva NE''  Google Maps (accessed 20 January 2019)]</ref>
* Sora Wildlife Management Area<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sora+Wildlife+Management+Area,+Shickley,+NE+68436/@40.3821723,-97.6611939,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x87977003e1f0c269:0xa8c6917afbe782c1!2sFillmore+County,+NE!3b1!8m2!3d40.4710119!4d-97.5247243!3m4!1s0x87977881ea458f9b:0x60f4cd4c5d07faab!8m2!3d40.3823913!4d-97.6588801 ''Sora Wildlife Management Area, Shickley NE''  Google Maps (accessed 20 January 2019)]</ref>
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