Arkansas’s Six Natural Divisions

These physiographic regions shape history,

nature and life in Arkansas

Author:
Jennifer Cobb
Gravette School District
 Ozark Mountain(Plateau) Region
Ozark Mountain

Some cities found here are:

Fayetteville, Springdale,
Rogers, Harrision, Mountian
Home, Batesville and Clinton.
The Ozark Plateau
• Not “true” mountains by definition

• the Ozarks were created through uplift , lifted

to a higher level, and formed a large flat-
topped region

• Over time it has eroded into the slopes and

valleys we call mountains.
The Ozark Plateau as seen from
Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park
The Ozark Plateau is rich in natural beauty. It has a variety of state
parks and rivers, making it one of the most popular recreation
destinations in America. As a result tourism is a big business.
People hike to the various rock outcrops, crevices, and see
scenic wonders in the Ozark Plateau, like Pedestal Rocks in the
Ozark National Forest, and…
the Buffalo River, or
Buffalo State Park.
 Buffalo and White Rivers, two major rivers of Arkansas, come
together at Buffalo City, and this is where many people fish. They
also can fish at
Mammoth Spring. This is the source of the Spring River found at
Mammoth Spring State Park in Fulton County.
They can also visit the Ozark Plateau’s prairies, like Baker Prairie,
located near Harrison.
 And, finally, one can visit our caves,
such as Devil’s Den or Blanchard
Springs Caverns (BSC). This is a
magnificent limestone cave system
starting more than 200 feet
underground . This is a “living” or
“active” cave, because it is
constantly being changed by
dripping water.

The circle is a person sitting next to a

stalagmite. The circle is the size of the
person
More wonderful pictures of Blanchard Springs Caverns.
Boston Mountains

The Boston Mountains form the southwestern part

of the Ozark plateau where they are the highest and
most rugged portion of the Ozarks. They are the
source of rivers and streams that flow out from the
mountains in all directions, like the White River,
Buffalo River and the Illinois River.
 Arkansas River Valley Region

Arkansas River Valley

-pinkish in color

Some cities found here are Fort

Smith ,Clarksville, Russellville,
Morrilton , and part of Conway .
This is what part of the Arkansas River Valley looks like.
• The Arkansas River Valley lies between the Ozarks and the
Ouachita Mountains.
• It was shaped over millions of years by a flowing river.
• Today, with an interstate highway, railroad and river travel, it
is one of the most important economic areas in mid-America.

The Arkansas River Valley–

Petit Jean State Park
 The Arkansas River is one of the main rivers in Arkansas used to
transport, move, goods from the Mississippi River to many places in the
western United States.

This picture shows a river barge

moving goods up the river.
The Fourche Creek Watershed is the most important urban
watershed in the state of Arkansas. The watershed drains
and filters runoff from Little Rock, Arkansas’s capital.

http://www.fourchecreek.org/
Information_maps.html
 Tupelo on Rock Creek Fourche Creek under I-440
Little Rock
Area
Even though people have hurt
Fourche Creek by littering and not
taking care of it, it continues to
grow many different plants and
flowers and an 1,800 acre wetland.
 The River Valley has several great state parks

For the history of Petit Jean http://www.petitjeanstatepark.com/history/history_of_petit_jean_

mountain.aspx
Petit Jean State Park
 and
Mt. Magazine State Park
are a couple of them.
 Arkansas’s highest point lies in the
Arkansas River Valley region
at Mount Magazine
State Park.
This is a survey marker proving that Mt.
Magazine is the highest point in Arkansas.
The River Valley also contains the Cherokee Prairie Natural Area
which is one of the largest remaining areas of tall grass prairie in
Arkansas.
 Ouachita Mountain Region

Ouachita Mountains
Some cities found here are:
Little Rock, Mena, Mt. Ida,
Hot Springs and Waldron
This is a view of the rolling hills of Ouachita Mountains
The Ouachitas are true mountains, formed by the collision of
tectonic plates that caused massive folding and faulting creating
one of the most
unique places
on Earth.

Geologists come from

around the world to study
the ‘Pinnacle Chaotic
Zone’ at
Pinnacle Mountain
State Park.
Pinnacle Mountain, located near Little Rock marks the point that
the various geographic regions of Arkansas collide. It rises more
than a thousand feet above the Arkansas River Valley. The
mountain's cone-shaped peak has long been a central Arkansas
landmark.
Rocky Valley Trail is one of the trails at Pinnacle Mountain State
Park where many people come to hike.
Lake Ouachita is a man-made lake found in the Ouachita
Mountain Region it is used for flood control and electricity
In the Ouachita Mountains, people can find rocks and minerals
like natural magnets, quality quartz crystals, and fine
novaculite.
Hot Springs National Park is one of the few places in the
United State with hot springs bubbling out naturally.

Hot Springs County

Mississippi Alluvial Plain Region

Mississippi Alluvial
Plain Region

Some cities found here are:

Blytheville, Dumas, North
Little Rock, and W. Memphis
• The Delta, or Mississippi Alluvial Plain, covers
the eastern portion of Arkansas. Here the
Mississippi and numerous other rivers have
deposited rich soils over millions of years. This
area has swamps, prairies, and rich farmland
where the soil is very deep. Today this region
is the primary farming area of Arkansas.
The Delta wetlands are important wildlife habitats.
One example is Lake Chicot State Park.
At one time, the lowlands of eastern Arkansas were an incredible
habitat for wildlife, filled with bright green parakeets, passenger
pigeons, elk and buffalo. Those species are gone, but a few areas
of wild habitat are bring protected, including the important
‘Big Woods’
of eastern
Arkansas and
federal and
state wildlife
management
areas.

Bois d'Arc Lake

 Bayou Metro Lakes
are examples of the swamps
in the Mississippi Alluvial
Plain created by years of
flooding of the Mississippi
River.

Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area,

managed by the Arkansas Game and Fish
Commission
The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, or ‘the Delta,’ is one of the
richest agricultural areas in
North America.

Arkansas grows

soybeans,
cotton,
and rice. Arkansas produces more
rice than any state in the nation.
 Farmers also grow milo crop to feed their animals. These are a
few of examples of crops grown in Arkansas. What other foods
does Arkansas grow?
This region contains a floodways, drainage ditches, levees, lakes
and streams, and some of the most fertile farmland in the
country. Much of the forest that was here has been removed for
agriculture.
 It also is home to some
of Arkansas's most
important historical sites.
Like the Arkansas Post
Museum State Park,

Arkansas Post Museum State Park

Parkin Archeological State Park where
500 years ago Hernando DeSoto stayed
with Native Americans here,
And other mounds by the Toltec Indians are also found in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
 And the
Louisiana Purchase Natural
Area
The swamp surrounding the marker is
called a "headwater swamp."
Headwater swamps maintain more
constant water levels than riparian
swamps due to reduced drainage of
the area. The swamp is about 6 miles
long and less than a mile wide.

Swamps, such as these, have all but

vanished from the Mississippi Alluvial
Plain. The headwater swamp at
Louisiana Purchase is the largest
remaining in the Lower Mississippi
Alluvial Valley.
 North America’s
largest ox-bow
lake, Lake Chicot
is found in this
region
-Lake Chicot State Park

Oxbow lakes are

formed when a
river changes its
course.
These lakes are
used for fishing,
boating and
swimming.
 Crowley’s Ridge
is the smallest geographical region in the lowlands.

Crowley’sRidge

Some cities found here are:

Forrest City, Jonesboro, and
Wynne
 Notice that Crowley’s ridge, outlined in brown, is in a higher
elevation then the surrounding Mississippi Alluvial Plain

Mississippi Alluvial Plain

It is rises up to 200 feet higher than the Delta and can be seen for miles around in the flat
fields of eastern Arkansas.
It was created by years and years of river erosion and wind-blown dust piling up to
create a long ridge slicing through the flat Delta land.
Crowley’s Ridge is capped with many feet of dust blown in
from the Mississippi River that forms a rich but very
erodible soil. This rich soil grows a plant community that
is unlike anything else in Arkansas.
At Village Creek state park
you can enjoy the unique
land of Crowley's Ridge. This
the ridge is covered with a
lush hardwood forest
featuring oak, sugar maple,
beech, butternut, and tulip
poplar.
Chalk Bluffs, named for white clay that looks like chalk, this bluff is
an important landmark in Arkansas. Here the St. Francis River cuts
through Crowley’s Ridge east to west and forms the boundary
of Arkansas and Missouri.
Also, in 1857 the
first land survey of
Arkansas began here.

Equally important, Chalk Bluffs was a

Chalk bluffs major site for the Civil War
This is a picture are of spindly trees
and thick layers of leaves lines the
remains of the trenches that were
created by Union troops prior to the
battle of Chalk Bluff.
Crowley’s Ridge State Park
is a beautiful area to hike
and enjoy Crowley Ridge’s
natural beauty

Road through the beautiful Crowley’s Ridge

forest
 West Gulf Coastal Plain Region

West Gulf Coastal

Plain
Some cities found
here are: Arkadelphia,
Hope, and Newport
The Gulf Coastal Plain begins just south of Little Rock and reaches to
the Gulf from Texas to Florida. This is an area of rolling hills, sandy
soil, and tall trees, mainly pine, oak and hickory and beech.
Trees grow large
here and this is
lumber country.
This is also oil
and diamond
country.

The Ouachita
River at Moro
Bay State Park in
the Gulf Coastal
Plain region.
The Gulf Coastal Plain has 200-year-old pines
that are part of the old growth forest protected
in in Logoly State Park north of Magnolia.

Logoly State
Park.
Look how
tall a pine
tree can
become!
Millwood Lake is used for boating, fishing and
bird watching.
The large, shallow Millwood Lake
is not a natural feature of the
Gulf Coastal Plain, but was made
by damming the Little Missouri
River. It is rapidly filling in. As it
changes from marsh to lake it is
creating new wildlife habitat.
The lake has been designated an
Arkansas Important Bird Area.
The Gulf Coastal Plain is the only
place in the world where you can
find and keep REAL diamonds.

Crater of Diamonds State Park

quickly fading prairies like Terre Noire
Natural Areais one of the highest-quality
blackland prairies remaining in the state. The
Blackland Prairie is a special mixture of soil and
mineral deposits that makes it different from other
prairie and woodland areas. The soil is deep, dark,
and has much calcium which is known to grow many
crops.
and Coffee Prairie Natural Area preserves some of the last remaining examples of a
type of grassland called "lowland sand prairie." This type of prairie is known to occur only in
extreme southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana in the bottomlands of the Ouachita River
and is unlike any other prairie in Arkansas in plants and soil.
What a state we live in! As
you can see, Arkansas is full
of historic, natural and
agricultural beauty. This
creates a wonderful place to
live and play.
 Special Thanks to All that Help Contribute

Jay S. Miller, CIP, CIT

Administrator of Program Services
Arkansas State Parks
The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission
Coffee Prairie- http://www.naturalheritage.com/natural-
area/detail.aspx?map_num=42
Cherokee Prairie- http://www.naturalheritage.com/natural-
area/detail.aspx?map_num=15
Lousiana Purchase-
http://www.naturalheritage.com/natural-area/detail.aspx?
map_num=51
Baker Prairie- http://www.naturalheritage.com/natural-
area/detail.aspx?map_num=9
Terre Noire- http://www.naturalheritage.com/natural-
area/detail.aspx?map_num=37
 National Scenic Byways Program
http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2588/places/15870/index.html
Photo Credits
© 2000 R.C.G.A.

Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest

http://www.springcreekforest.org/Blackland%20Prairie.htm
Trip Advisor
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g31756-
d274438-Reviews-Mammoth_Spring_State_Park-
Mammoth_Spring_Arkansas.html
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net
Pinnacle Mountain-
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-
detail.aspx?entryID=1248

USDA Forest Service – Blanchard Springs Caverns

http://www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ozark/recreation/caverns1.html
Arkansas Wildlife Action Plan
http://www.wildlifearkansas.com/boston.html
Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Boston Mountains,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Mountains

Google Maps- Cherokee Prairie

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=35.33579%C2%B0,-
94.03882%C2%B0+%28Cherokee%20Prairie%20Natural%20Area
%29&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1&iwloc=addr&safe=active

Lake Ouachita
http://www.lakeouachita.org/
Terry Smith Images
http://www.terrysmithimages.com/photos/arkansas-
pictures.aspx
Audubon Arkansas
Cathy Mackey http://www.fourchecreek.org
Science Specialist http://ar.audubon.org
Arkansas Department of
Education
Arkansas: The World Around Us. Tom Greer and Lavell Cole
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill School Publishing Company 1991
Crowley’s Ridge photo p. 35
Lake Chicot Photo and information p. 14
Mississippi Alluvial Plain p. 32-34

U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency

Western Ecology Division
Ecoregions of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/map_eco.htm