Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the Southern region of the United States. Its name is of Siouan derivation, denoting the Quapaw Indians. Known as “the Natural State”, the diverse regions of Arkansas offer residents and tourists a variety of opportunities for outdoor recreation.
- ABBREVIATION: AR
- NICKNAME: The Natural State
- POPULATION: 2,949,131 (2012 est.)
- CAPITAL: Little Rock
- STATE BIRD: Mockingbird
- STATE FLOWER: Apple Blossom
- AREA: 53,179 sq. mi.
- TIME ZONE: Central: UTC −6/−5
- ENTERED UNION: June 15, 1836
- ALTITUDE: High 2,753 ft. Magazine Mountain
- CLIMATE: Moderately long, hot summers; short, mild winters, abundant rainfall.
This is a state divided by its physiography. Northwest Arkansas rises in mountainous ridges above the Ozark Plateau and the highlands of the Ouachita and Boston Mountains. To the south and east, the terrain slopes into the valley of the Mississippi and the lowlands of the coastal plain, which extends inland from the Gulf of Mexico. Ranging mile after mile throughout the state are magnificent forests-largely of pine and oak-which form the basis of the state’s lumber industry. A pioneer in scientific forestry, Arkansas discovered in the early 1900’s that careful logging methods and fire control could result in the reproduction of commercially valuable forests for years to come.
Having taken its name from an Indian tribe, The Akansea, the state has been embroiled in a controversy over its pronunciation ever since. “Bite a piece of the moon…shake yourself and rumble the mountains” once rumbled a proud native Arkansan in a Senate debate over whether the name “Arkansas” rhymes with that of nearby Kansas, “But, sir, you will never change the name of Arkansaw”.
Once a state with a cashless society in the uplands and plantation agriculture in the lowlands, Arkansas’s economy has evolved and diversified to meet the needs of today’s consumer. The state’s gross domestic product (GDP) was $105 billion in 2010. Six Fortune 500 companies are based in Arkansas, including the world’s #1 retailer, Walmart.
FUN FACTS:
- Sam Walton founded his Wal-Mart stores in Bentonville, Arkansas.
- Arkansas has been the country’s leading producer of rice since 1973. It produces about 45 percent of the total U.S. crop.
- In 1932, Arkansas elected the first woman to the U.S. Senate. Her name was Hattie Caraway.
- Nine million gallons of water flow from Mammoth Spring each hour. The spring forms a scenic 10-acre lake in Mammoth Spring State Park. It is one of the world’s largest single springs.
- The average temperature of the waters in the 47 springs that flow out of Hot springs Mountain is 143 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only diamond-producing area in the world that allows the public to keep what they find, and near Murfreesboro is the only diamond mine in North America that is open to the public.