The Niobrara River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 430 mi long, running through  Wyoming and Nebraska. The river drains one of the most arid sections of the Great Plains, and has a low flow for a river of its length. The Niobrara's watershed includes a small south-central section of South Dakota as well as the northern tier of Nebraska and a tiny area of eastern Wyoming. The lower Niobrara valley is the traditional home of the Ponca tribe of Native Americans. Between 1861 and 1882, the stretch of the Niobrara River from the mouth of the Keya Paha to its confluence with the Missouri marked the boundary between Nebraska and the Dakota Territory.

The Platte River is an approximately 310 mi. long river in the Western United States. It is a tributary to the Missouri River. Platte River being one of the most significant river systems in the watershed of the Missouri, it drains a large portion of the central Great Plains in Nebraska and the eastern Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wyoming. The river was highly significant in the westward expansion of the United States, providing the route for several major westward trails, including the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail. In the 18th century, it was also known among French fur trappers who explored it as the Nebraska River. The first European to discover the Platte was the French explorer Étienne de Veniard, sieur de Bourgmont in 1714, who named it the Nebraskier, an Oto word meaning "flat water". The French word for flat, platte, was later applied. The river provided valuable transportation for the French trade in furs with the Pawnee and Oto Indians

The Laramie River is a tributary of the North Platte River, approximately 216 mi long, in Colorado and Wyoming. The river was named for Jacques La Ramee, a French-Canadian fur trader who lived in the area in the 1820s. His arrow-ridden body was found near the mouth of the river on the North Platte by his companions, who named the river in his honor. The Laramie Mountains, as well as the City of Laramie, Wyoming, were later given the same name.

The Caney River forms in Elk County, Kansas, moves south into Oklahoma near Elgin, Kansas. It then flows south through Osage County, where it is dammed near Bowring to form Hulah Lake. Downstream of the dam, the river flows into Washington County through the center of Bartlesville, where it separates the city's downtown from its residential east side. Just south of Bartlesville, the river turns southeast and flows into Rogers County, where it joins the Verdigris River between Collinsville and Claremore.

USNS Sappa Creek After hitting an Iceberg

The location of Thule, 700 miles north of the Arctic Circle, required the ships to sail in company with icebreakers from the Canadian and American Navy and Coast Guard. Due to the heavy flow ice, ships needed to depart by early September, or face a winter trapped in the ice. The mission posed serious dangers to the crews and ships. The tanker USNS Sappa Creek experienced a radar malfunction and while in reduced visibility struck an iceberg and suffered severe damage to its bow, but was able to continue its mission.
From: Operation BlueJay Blog