Ogallala Aquifer

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Ogallala_saturated_thickness_1997-sattk97-v2.svg/300px-Ogallala_saturated_thickness_1997-sattk97-v2.svg.png

Spanning a total of 174,000 square miles from the southern border of South Dakota to northern Texas, the Ogallala Aquifer is one of the largest aquifers in the world. Beginning roughly 150 miles east of the Rocky Mountains, the Ogallala aquifer spreads across most of Nebraska—this certainly plays a role in why it’s so damn humid during the summer.

By definition, an aquifer is “a rock layer that is permeable to the flow of groundwater…” An aquifer is either confined or unconfined. The Ogallala, or High Plains Aquifer, is considered unconfined as it has a permeable layer of rock above the water table and an impermeable layer of bedrock underneath. A confined aquifer has is similar except for it also has a near impermeable layer of rock amongst the permeable.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Aquifer_en.svg/400px-Aquifer_en.svg.png

The Ogallala Aquifer was formed from the till (permeable sediment) left behind from retreating glaciers that receded the Rocky Mountains 10 million years ago. Due to natural weathering and erosion, the Rocky Mountains no longer replenish the aquifer, so it must rely on merely snow and rainfall, which is not too much in the semiarid climate. The Aquifer was discovered and tapped in 1911 and has since supplied the region (especially Nebraska as it has roughly two-thirds of the total volume) with water for commercial, residential and agricultural uses. As farming being one of the regions largest industries, it accounts for 94 percent of the Ogallala Aquifers groundwater use.

Result of Center Pivot Sprinkler Irrigation

http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2012/finalwebsite/images/groundwater3.jpg

Because the Ogallala Aquifer has such an impact on the economy and the geography of the region, steps are being taken to slow the rate of depletion. In the 1940’s, large-scale irrigation began and since then, water levels in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas had fallen more than 100 feet by the 1980s. Since then, the Aquifer’s water usage has dropped to an approximate 3 feet per year. With that in mind, I believe that in 1,000 years, the Ogallala Aquifer will be near tapped. By the year 3013, Nebraska will be a very coveted location for farmland, commercial livestock amongst other commercial industries. When considering the Saturated Thickness map (above), I believe that the dryer parts of the Aquifer will be dry, which will in turn result in those areas being similar to more even more arid regions. Because of the thickness in saturation, Nebraska might even be called an oasis (by a chuckling redneck).
In 10,000 years, I believe that a similar trend will have followed due to human consumption and simply running out of resources on a global scale (If Stephen Hawking says we have to go, I'm going to listen). With evidence that the largest aquifer and other natural resources are diminishing, there is no doubt that our current standard of living will remain the same. In regards to physical geographic characteristics of Nebraska, I believe that the state will have immensely dry weather that will be unable to have a healthy soil resulting in a desert landscape. This will probably happen by way of dust storms that occur because there won't be any plant roots to hold down the topsoil.  There will be hullaballoos all across the Midwest covering everything in sand. Hopefully we will be looking at Nebraska through cameras in space.

http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Oc-Po/Ogallala-Aquifer.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/ogallala-aquifer-drought_n_2902037.html

http://geography.about.com/od/physicalgeography/a/aquifers.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer