Geography of Arkansas

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Regions of Arkansas
Geographic Regions Delta Crowley's Ridge River Valley Timberlands Central Ouachitas Ozarks
Metropolitan Areas Central Arkansas Fort Smith Hot Springs Jonesboro Memphis Northwest Arkansas Pine Bluff Texarkana
Administrative divisions Counties Cities and towns Census-designated places Places (Including Unincorporated communities) School Districts Townships

Arkansas's regions are defined using many different criteria. Distinct natural regions of Arkansas include The Ozarks, Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas River Valley, Gulf Coastal Plain, Crowley's Ridge, the Arkansas Delta, Arkansas Timberlands, and Central Arkansas. Arkansans usually identify as being from one of five regions: northwest, southwest, northeast, southeast, or central Arkansas. These directional regions are not specifically defined by county.

View from scenic overlook in Carroll County in the heart of the Ozarks.

Northwest Arkansas contains the southern half of the Ozarks, including the steeper Boston Mountains and the more gentle Springfield Plateau. These mountains are heavily forested by an oak-hickory ecosystem and less than 25% has been cleared for agriculture.[10] The Ozark National Forest, administered by the National Forest Service, preserves 1,200,000 acres (490,000 ha) of land in northwest Arkansas, including Arkansas's highest point, Mount Magazine in Mount Magazine State Park. Also within northwest Arkansas is the Arkansas River Valley including the tri-peaks tourist region of Mount Nebo, Mount Magazine, Petit Jean Mountain, and Lake Dardanelle.[11] Federal and state protected areas such as the Buffalo National River, Buffalo National River Wilderness, Bull Shoals–White River State Park, and Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area preserve the northwest Arkansas Ozarks in their natural state.

Population is anchored by the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Area and Fort Smith metropolitan area, with sparsely populated mountainous areas defining the remainder of the region. The Ozark culture, such as Ozark Folk Festival held annually in Mountain View, defines much of the rural parts of northwest Arkansas. The Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View is dedicated to preserving northwest Arkansas's folk heritage.[12] Other cultural centers are Bentonville, home to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and Fayetteville, home to the University of Arkansas and Walton Arts Center.[13]

Lake Frierson State Park is atop Crowley's Ridge in northeast Arkansas

Northeast Arkansas is generally characterized as the area east of the Ozark Mountains and north of Interstate 40. The land is adjacent to the Mississippi River and generally flat, fertile, swampy lands sometimes called the Arkansas delta. The exception is Crowley's Ridge, a geological remnant from the Pleistocene era that raises around 200 feet (61 m) above the surrounding delta lowlands.[14] Crowley's Ridge is more populated than the sparsely populated delta, including larger cities Jonesboro, Paragould, Forrest City, and Wynne. Primary waterways in the region include the Cache River, St. Francis River, and the Black River. Protected areas of northeast Arkansas include Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge, Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge, Lake Charles State Park, and Lake Poinsett State Park.

Tourists can explore some of the local Native American culture at the Nodena Site, Parkin Archaeological State Park, and Hampson Museum State Park. Following settlement, most of the area relied on cotton as the primary cash crop, and was home to many powerful plantation owners in the antebellum period. After the Civil War, agriculture became based on sharecropping and tenant farming, allowing plantation owners to keep their workers in poverty and maintain their political power. Much of this history is alive today at museums like the Southern Tenant Farmers Union Museum in Tyronza. The rivers served as highways for commerce and communication in the early days, and steamboat towns of days past have been restored for visitors to enjoy, including Jacksonport State Park and Powhatan Historic State Park along the Black River. Davidsonville Historic State Park preserves one of the state's first settlements as a frontier town, also located on the Black River. The primary population center of the region is the Jonesboro metropolitan area, with Jonesboro serving as the principal city.

Flat land in cultivation, such as this in Desha County, is typical of Southeast Arkansas

Southeast Arkansas is generally characterized as the area east of Little Rock and south of Interstate 40. The land is adjacent to the Mississippi River and generally flat, fertile, swampy lands sometimes called the Arkansas delta. This region is sparsely populated, with an economy primarily driven by agriculture. The western side of Southeast Arkansas includes the Piney Woods, a region known for dense pine and cypress forests. Silviculture and agriculture are prominent in this section of the region. Population centers include Pine Bluff, Stuttgart, Monticello, Warren and Crossett. Primary waterways in the region include the Arkansas River, Bayou Bartholomew, Mississippi River and the White River. Protected areas of southeast Arkansas include Cane Creek State Park, Delta Heritage Trail State Park, Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, Lake Chicot State Park, Mississippi River State Park, Overflow National Wildlife Refuge and White River National Wildlife Refuge.

The flat topography and fertile soils of Southeast Arkansas have been important to the region throughout its history, first to the Native American that inhabited the region. This history is available today at museums like the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Historical Museum. The area was one of the first explored and settled in Arkansas; including the territorial capital at Arkansas Post. Following widespread settlement, most of the area was put into cotton cultivation due to the region's fertile soils. The staple's high market value made many plantation owners wealthy in the antebellum period; this history is available to visitors at museums such as the Lakeport Plantation. After the Civil War, agriculture became based on sharecropping and tenant farming, allowing plantation owners to keep their workers in poverty and maintain their political power and social dominance. In the 1950s, mechanization reduced the need for laborers on the farm, driving much of the region's population elsewhere in order to find jobs. Throughout much of Southeast Arkansas, population has continued to decline and economies have continued to shrink ever since. The primary population center of the region is the Pine Bluff metropolitan area, with Pine Bluff serving as the principal city.

Southwest Arkansas is largely covered in a thick pine, hickory, and oak forest known as the Piney Woods, with much of the land being preserved in the Ouachita National Forest. Manmade lakes dot the region, including Lake Ouachita, Lake Hamilton, Millwood Lake, and DeGray Lake. Population centers include Hot Springs, a popular tourist destination known for the natural hot springs protected within Hot Springs National Park, Oaklawn Park racing resort, and historic buildings; and Texarkana, which straddles the Texas state line in the southwest corner of Arkansas. Most of Southwest Arkansas is sparsely populated, with small towns separated by long roadways through stands of pine trees.

Arkansas contains approximately 515,000 acres (208,000 ha) of surface waters, including 28,408 miles (45,718 km) of perennial streams and 87,618 miles (141,008 km) of total streams. ADEQ uses six ultimate receiving streams to subdivide the state into primary watersheds: Arkansas River, Mississippi River, Ouachita River, Red River, St. Francis River, and White River. This six basins collect water from over 1600 smaller watersheds throughout the state via tributary streams, as described below.[16]

• Arkansas River: flows south-southeast, roughly bisecting the state. Major tributaries include Bayou Meto, Cadron Creek, Fourche LaFave River, Petit Jean River, Poteau River, and Illinois River.
• Mississippi River: flows south and forms much of the state's eastern boundary on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Major tributaries include the Arkansas, St. Francis, and White.
• Ouachita River: flows southeast into Louisiana. Major tributaries include the Antoine River, Boeuf River, Bayou Bartholomew, Little Missouri River, and the Saline River.
• Red River: located in southwest Arkansas, flows southeast into Louisiana. Major tributaries include: Dorcheat Bayou, Bodcau Bayou, Lower Middle Red River, Lower Red River, Sulphur River, McKinney Bayou, Little River, and Mountain Fork
• St. Francis River: located in northeast Arkansas, flows east into the Mississippi River. Major tributaries include the L'Anguille River and Little River.
• White River: flows from northwest to southeast Arkansas, including a brief turn into Missouri. Major tributaries include Bayou De View, Bayou des Arc, Black River, Buffalo River, Cache River, Eleven Point River, Kings River, Little Red River, Spring River, Strawberry River, Village Creek, Wattensaw Bayou.

• 
  Arkansas River
  at Little Rock
• 
  Mississippi River
  at Lake Village
• 
  Ouachita River in the
  Ouachita National Forest
• 
  Red River
  at Lewisville
• 
  St. Francis River
  at Parkin
• 
  White River
  at Buffalo City

Groundwater accounts for over 60% of water use in Arkansas, and shallow aquifers providing high quality groundwater can be found throughout the state. In many upland regions of Arkansas, surface water interacts with groundwater via karst topography common to the Ozarks and Ouachitas. Groundwater monitoring is subdivided into twelve areas. Of the twelve, the Athens Plateau (Hempstead County), Frontal Ouachita, Hardy, Omaha, Ouachita, North Central, and Pine Bluff monitoring areas have a water quality described as "generally good".

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