Geography and Industry

Like Missouri to the north, Arkansas is both on the western bank of the Mississippi River and bisected by a large river flowing eastward through the state into the Mississippi. Also like Missouri, the river running through Arkansas bears the same name as the state (the Arkansas River).

Other important rivers in Arkansas include the White, the Ouachita (pronounced WA-shee-taw), and the Red. The Red River marks part of Arkansas' western border with Texas.

Arkansas is a very hilly state. In the north lie the Ozark Mountains, and to the southwest are the Ouachita Mountains. The Ozarks are so rugged that the people who settled there became highly isolated and very independent.

The lowlands along the Mississippi and Arkansas River systems are rich farmland where cotton is still a major crop. Since the Civil War, though, Arkansas has grown many other crops. These other crops include two that are now much more important than cotton: rice and soybeans. Catfish are actually raised on Arkansas fish farms for sale to restaurants and grocery stores. Broiler chickens, turkeys, and dairy products also play a significant role in the state's economy.

Arkansas has many other products aside from agricultural products. These include things like natural gas, petroleum (oil), lumber, furniture, chemicals, aircraft parts, automobile parts, and other types of machinery.

Although hiking and camping are important recreational activities in Arkansas, they are not as popular as hunting and fishing are. This includes fishing for (you guessed it) catfish!

WORDS TO KNOW

Words to Know Bisect The word “bisect” means to split or cut in two.

History

Before European exploration and settlement, Native Americans lived in Arkansas dating back to at least 500 a.d., when Native Americans called the Bluff Dwellers settled into caves along the Arkansas River. They were followed by Mound Builders of the Mississippian civilization, who built their trademark mounds in the major river valleys of the region. By the time of first contact with Europeans, such tribes as the Oto and the Osage were living in the region, splitting their time between farming and hunting/gathering.

Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his expedition visited Arkansas in the early 1540s. De Soto and his men crossed and recrossed the state, headed first away from the Mississippi and into Oklahoma, then back to the Mississippi, all while looking for gold and silver.

The French eventually settled Arkansas during the seventeenth century, although during the French colonial period there were never as many people living in Arkansas as were living in New Orleans to the south, or around St. Louis to the north. Along with the rest of French Louisiana (the area of North America under French control west of the Mississippi River), Arkansas changed hands a number of times in the eighteenth century, before being sold to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

Having entered the Union in 1836 as a slave state, Arkansas seceded with ten other southern states in 1861. Battles such as Pea Ridge were fought in the northern part of the state, but the most important Civil War action that occurred in Arkansas was the naval battle between Union and Confederate forces for control of the Mississippi River.