About Arkansas
Arkansas - which means “South Wind” is the name of an Indian tribe. The French Jesuits learned of a tribe probably called Quapaw, or Oo-gaq-pa, which the Algonquin pronounced Oo-ka-na-sa and Marquette wrote Arkansas; LaSalle wrote Arkensa; DeTonti, Arkansas: and LaHarpe, Arkansas. When the state was admitted to the Union in 1836, it was spelled Arkansas. The legislature of 1881 appointed a committee to ascertain the rightful pronunciation of the last syllable, and the result was a resolution declaring the pronunciation to be Ark-an-saw.
Arkansas Statistics
Population: 2,725,714 (2003 U.S. Census Estimate)
Area: 53,178 square miles (2004 Arkansas Statistical Abstract)
Capitol: Little Rock
Time Zone: Central
Average Annual Temperature: 61.1°F
Extreme Length: 240 Miles
Extreme Width: 275 Miles
Highest Elevation: 2753 ft. above sea level
Geography
Arkansas is bounded on the north by Missouri; on the east by the Mississippi River, which separates it from Mississippi and Tennessee; on the south by Louisiana; and on the west by the plains of Oklahoma and Texas. The state is almost equally divided between lowlands and highlands, with the Gulf Coastal Plain on the east and south and the Interior Highlands on the west and north. Elevations in the lowlands range from 54 feet above sea level in the south to 683 feet above sea level in the northeast. The hill section is divided into two areas of nearly equal size. To the north are the Ozark Mountains and the Ouachita subdivision. In this Arkansas Valley stand the highest and most impressive peaks of the state - Nebo, Petit Jean and Magazine. Petit Jean is cleft by a canyon with a 75-foot waterfall, and Mount Magazine has the highest elevation in the state, 2,753 feet above sea level. Rivers of the state are the Mississippi, Arkansas, White, St. Francis, Red, Ouachita and their tributaries - all of which drain to the south and the southeast. Arkansas has scores of small streams and lakes, and the plateau section is noted for its many springs. Mammoth Spring, in Fulton County near the Missouri line, has a flow of 150,000 gallons of water per minute. More than a million gallons of water flow daily from the 47 springs at the base of Hot Spring Mountain in Hot Springs National Park. The water has an average temperature of 143 degrees Fahrenheit.
Agriculture
Arkansas has more than 14.5 million acres of land devoted to agricultural pursuits. A temperate climate, a variety of soil types, and a long growing season permit the production of practically every crop grown in America, with the exception of citrus fruit. Arkansas ranks 16th among states with a total of 7.5 million harvested acres of crop production. Arkansas leads the United States in the productions of rice and ranks second in the production of commercial broiler chickens. It is third in catfish, fifth in cotton, eighth in eggs, second in farm chickens, third in turkeys and ninth in soybeans. The state is well known for its tomatoes, strawberries, peaches, pecans, sorghum grain, wine grapes, blue berries and watermelons.
Natural Resources
Petroleum, natural gas, and bromine are the top three minerals produced in Arkansas. Arkansas ranks first in the production of bromine, accounting for 45.8 percent of the worlds output. The state also produces about half of the world’s output of silica stone, a natural abrasive. Murfreesboro is the home of the only diamond mine open to the public in North America.
Arkansas has 18,778,600 acres of forest land. The forests are divided into three principle classifications: the loblolly, short leaf pine of the West Gulf Coastal Plain and the Ouachita Mountains; and the bottom land hardwoods of the alluvial plains of Eastern Arkansas.
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