The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...
in western
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
and southeastern
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ...
strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thrust Belt, one of the important
orogenic belts of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
.
The Ouachitas continue in the subsurface to the northeast, where they make a poorly understood connection with the
Appalachians and to the southwest, where they join with the
Marathon uplift
The Marathon Uplift is a Paleogene-age domal uplift, approximately in diameter, in southwest Texas. The Marathon Basin was created by erosion of Cretaceous and younger strata from the crest of the uplift.McBride, E.F. and Hayward, O.T., 1988''Geo ...
area of
West Texas
West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio.
No consensus exists on the boundary betw ...
.
Together with the
Ozark Plateaus, the Ouachitas form the
U.S. Interior Highlands
The U.S. Interior Highlands is a mountainous region in the Central United States spanning northern and western Arkansas, southern Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, and extreme southeastern Kansas. The name is designated by the United States Ge ...
.
The highest natural point is
Mount Magazine at .
The Ouachita Mountains is a
Level III ecoregion designated by the
Environmental Protection Agency
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale ...
(EPA). The region has been subdivided into six
Level IV ecoregions.
Etymology
Louis R. Harlan claimed that "Ouachita" is composed of the
Choctaw
The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...
words ''ouac'' for "buffalo" and ''chito'' for "large", together meaning "country of large buffaloes". At one time, herds of
buffalo inhabited the lowland areas of the Ouachitas.
Historian
Muriel H. Wright wrote that "Ouachita" is composed of the
Choctaw
The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...
words ''owa'' for "hunt" and ''chito'' for "big", together meaning "big hunt far from home".
According to the article ''Ouachita'' in the ''
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', "Ouachita" comes from the French spelling of the
Caddo
The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language.
The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, w ...
word ''washita'', meaning "good hunting grounds".
Geography
The Ouachitas are a major physiographic province of
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
and
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
and are generally grouped with the
Arkansas River Valley. Together with the
Ozark Plateaus, the Ouachitas form the
U.S. Interior Highlands
The U.S. Interior Highlands is a mountainous region in the Central United States spanning northern and western Arkansas, southern Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, and extreme southeastern Kansas. The name is designated by the United States Ge ...
, one of few mountainous regions between the
Appalachians and
Rockies.
Flora
The Ouachitas are dominated by pine, oak, and hickory.
The shortleaf pine (''
Pinus echinata'') and post oak (''
Quercus stellata'') thrive in dry, nutrient-poor soil and are common in upland areas. The maple-leaf oak (''
Quercus acerifolia'') is found at only four sites worldwide, all of which are in the Ouachitas.
Some native tree species, such as the eastern red-cedar (''
Juniperus virginiana''), are colonizers of human-disturbed sites.
The
Ouachita National Forest covers approximately 1.8 million acres of the Ouachitas.
It is one of the largest and oldest national forests in the
Southern U.S., created through an executive order by President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
on December 18, 1907.
There are six wilderness areas within the
Ouachita National Forest, which are protected areas designed to minimize the impacts of human activities.
Several plants are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to the Ouachitas, including: ''
Agalinis nuttallii'',
''Cardamine angustata'' var. ''ouachitana'', ''
Carex latebracteata,''
''Galium arkansanum'' var. ''pubifolium'', ''
Houstonia ouachitana'', ''
Hydrophyllum brownei
''Hydrophyllum brownei'', or Browne's waterleaf, is a rare North American plant species found only in the Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas. It grows in forested hillsides above the Cossatot River
The Cossatot River is an river in Howard, Polk a ...
'', ''
Liatris compacta'', ''
Quercus acerifolia'', ''
Polymnia cossatotensis'', ''
Solidago ouachitensis'', ''
Spiranthes niklasii'' (near endemic, also found on
Crowley's Ridge),
''Streptanthus maculatus'' subsp. ''obtusifolius'', ''
Streptanthus squamiformis
''Streptanthus'' is a genus of plants within the family Brassicaceae. There are about 35 known species within the genus ''Streptanthus'', distributed mostly throughout western North America. The common names for this genus are twistflower and j ...
'', ''
Valerianella palmerii'', and ''
Vernonia lettermanii''.
Fauna
Bison
Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised.
Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North A ...
and
elk once found habitat in the Ouachita Mountains, but have since been extirpated. Today, there are large populations of
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
,
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
, and other common temperate forest animals. Though elusive, hundreds of
black bear roam the Ouachitas. Several
cryptic species
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each ot ...
of
salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...
are endemic to the Ouachitas and have traits that vary from one locale to another.
Subranges
Athens Plateau
The Athens Plateau or Athens Piedmont (EPA Level IV ecoregion 36a) consists of a series of low relief ridges, none exceeding . It is located south of the Ouachitas and extends from to the Arkansas-Oklahoma border. The Athens Piedmont runs from
Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,714. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Hender ...
into Oklahoma through
Clark
Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin language, Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone ...
,
Howard
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
,
Pike, and
Sevier counties in Arkansas and
McCurtain County in Oklahoma. The ecoregion's low ridges and hills are widely underlain by
Mississippian Stanley Shale in contrast to other parts of the Ouachitas.
Today, pine plantations are widespread; they are far more extensive than in the more rugged parts of the Arkansas Ouachitas. Pastureland and hayland also occur. Cattle and broiler chickens are important farm products.
The Caddo, Cossatot, and Missouri mountains are a high, compact group of mountains composed of the weather-resistant Arkansas Novaculite. They are located primarily in
Montgomery and
Polk
Polk may refer to:
People
* James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States
* Polk (name), other people with the name
Places
* Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois
* Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Polk, Missour ...
counties, Arkansas. The highest natural point is Raspberry Mountain at . The headwaters of multiple rivers are found in this area, including the
Caddo
The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language.
The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, w ...
,
Cossatot, and
Little Missouri rivers.
The Cross Mountains are located in
Polk
Polk may refer to:
People
* James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States
* Polk (name), other people with the name
Places
* Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois
* Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Polk, Missour ...
and
Sevier counties, Arkansas and
McCurtain County, Oklahoma. The highest natural point is Whiskey Peak at .
The Crystal Mountains are located primarily in
Montgomery County, Arkansas. They are so named because of the occurrence of some of the world's finest
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical f ...
. The Crystal Mountains are generally taller than the nearby Zig Zag Mountains, achieving elevations over .
Fourche Mountains
The Fourche Mountains (EPA Level IV ecoregion 36d) are a long, continuous chain of east-west mountains composed of the weather-resistant
Jackfork Sandstone. They extend from
Pulaski County, Arkansas
Pulaski County is located in the U.S. state of Arkansas with a population of 399,125, making it the most populous county in Arkansas. The county is included in the Little Rock–North Little Rock– Conway metropolitan area. Its county seat is ...
to
Atoka County, Oklahoma and are home to several popular sites of interest, including
Pinnacle Mountain State Park near
Little Rock, Arkansas
( The "Little Rock")
, government_type = Council-manager
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_party = D
, leader_title2 = Council
, leader_name2 ...
. The highest natural point is
Rich Mountain at , which intersects the Arkansas-Oklahoma border near
Mena, Arkansas
Mena ( ) is a city in Polk County, Arkansas, Polk County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Polk County. The population was 5,558 as of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. Mena is included in the Ark-La-Tex socio-econ ...
.
The Fourche Mountains are the archetypal Ouachita Mountains. Forested ridges are heavily forested with oak–hickory–pine forest; intervening valleys are cut into shale. Ridges are longer, habitat continuity is greater, the lithologic mosaic is different, and the topographic orientation is more consistent than in other parts of the Ouachitas. Differences in moisture and temperature between north- and south-facing slopes significantly influence native plant communities; they are products of the prevailing topographic trend.
Forests on steep, north-facing slopes are more
mesic than on southern aspects; the steepest, south-facing slopes contain shallow, moisture deficient soils supporting shrubs and rocky glades or grassy woodlands.
Pastureland and hayland are restricted to a few broad valleys. Logging is not nearly as intensive as in the commercial pine plantations of the less rugged Athens Plateau. Nutrient, mineral, and biochemical water quality parameter concentrations are low in the surface waters of the Fourche range, but
turbidity
Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.
Fluids ...
can be higher than in other mountainous parts of the Ouachitas.
Although most streams stop flowing during the driest part of the summer, enduring deep pools, high quality habitat, and good water quality allow sensitive aquatic species to survive through the summer.
They are the only home and namesake of the
Fourche Mountain salamander.
The Fourche Mountains form a major watershed divide between the Arkansas River Basin to the north and the Red River Basin to the south.
The Frontal Ouachita Mountains are located in the
Arkansas River Valley and feature a number of isolated landforms. The highest natural point is
Mount Magazine at , which is also the highest natural point of the Ouachitas and
U.S. Interior Highlands
The U.S. Interior Highlands is a mountainous region in the Central United States spanning northern and western Arkansas, southern Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, and extreme southeastern Kansas. The name is designated by the United States Ge ...
. The Frontal Ouachita Mountains are structurally quite different from the rest of the Ouachitas and are sometimes considered a separate range.
The Trap Mountains are located primarily in
Garland and
Hot Spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
counties,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
. The highest natural point is Trap Mountain at .
The Zig Zag Mountains are located in
Garland County, Arkansas and are home to the thermal springs of
Hot Springs National Park. They are so named because of their unique chevron shape when viewed from above, the result of plunging
anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is t ...
s and
syncline
In structural geology, a syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the center of the structure, whereas an anticline is the inverse of a syncline. A synclinorium (plural synclinoriums or synclinoria) is a large syncline with superimpose ...
s. The Zig Zag Mountains are not exceptionally tall, but do reach heights over .
Geology
The Ouachitas are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ...
strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thrust Belt, which crops out for approximately in western
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
and southeastern
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
.
In a general sense, the Ouachitas are considered an anticlinorium because the oldest known rocks are located towards the center of the outcrop area.
The Ouachitas continue in the subsurface to the
Black Warrior Basin of
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = " Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
and
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
where they plunge towards the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...
. To the southwest, the Ouachitas join with the Marathon area of west
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
where rocks of the Ouachita Fold and Thrust Belt are briefly exposed.
Unlike many ranges in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, the Ouachitas are mostly east-west trending. They are unique because
metamorphism
Metamorphism is the transformation of existing rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated pressure or in the presence of ch ...
and
volcanism
Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called a ...
, features that are common in orogenic belts, are notably absent (with the exception of some low-grade
metamorphism
Metamorphism is the transformation of existing rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated pressure or in the presence of ch ...
). Due to the high degree of folding and faulting, the Ouachitas are clustered into distinct subranges, with ridges separated by relatively broad valleys.
The Ouachitas are known for some of the world's finest
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical f ...
, especially around
Mount Ida, Arkansas
Mount Ida is a city in and county seat of Montgomery County, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1842, the city saw a silver boom in the 1880s bring early prosperity and economic development to the area.
Today, the economy is largely ranching, po ...
, the quartz capital of the world. The quartz formed after the
Ouachita Orogeny
The Ouachita orogeny was a mountain-building event that resulted in the folding and faulting of strata currently exposed in the Ouachita Mountains. The more extensive Ouachita system extends from the current range in Arkansas and Oklahoma southe ...
when fractures in rocks filled with silica-saturated fluids and, over millions of years, precipitated crystals up to several feet in length. The Ouachitas are also known for
novaculite
Novaculite, also called Arkansas Stone, is a microcrystalline to cryptocrystalline rock type that consists of silica in the form of chert or flint. It is commonly white to grey or black in color, with a specific gravity that ranges from 2.2 to 2.5 ...
, a variety of
chert
Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a ...
that has undergone low-grade
metamorphism
Metamorphism is the transformation of existing rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated pressure or in the presence of ch ...
; particular grades found only in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
are used for making
whetstones.
History
Cambrian
The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million years ago ...
through
Mississippian strata of the Ouachitas were deposited in a narrow, two-sided basin called the Ouachita Trough, which formed as part of a
Cambrian
The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million years ago ...
failed rift system.
Succeeding
Pennsylvanian strata of the Ouachitas were deposited in a
foreland basin
A foreland basin is a structural basin that develops adjacent and parallel to a mountain belt. Foreland basins form because the immense mass created by crustal thickening associated with the evolution of a mountain belt causes the lithosphere ...
during the early stages of the
Ouachita Orogeny
The Ouachita orogeny was a mountain-building event that resulted in the folding and faulting of strata currently exposed in the Ouachita Mountains. The more extensive Ouachita system extends from the current range in Arkansas and Oklahoma southe ...
.
Subduction of the
South American Plate
The South American Plate is a major tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America as well as a sizable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the African Plate, with which it forms the southern part of the Mid ...
beneath the
North American Plate
The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Paci ...
resulted in this mountain-building event.
Compressional forces caused the crust to buckle, producing complex folds at all scale levels and several overturned sequences.
The area of greatest deformation occurred in the Benton-Broken Bow Uplift, which extends from
Benton, Arkansas to
Broken Bow, Oklahoma.
The total height of the Ouachitas is not known, though they may have exceeded (based loosely on geologic cross-sections).
The terrain has been deeply eroded since the late
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ...
.
Stratigraphy
The Ouachitas are composed of
Cambrian
The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million years ago ...
through
Pennsylvanian sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
s. The Collier Shale, located at the core of the Benton-Broken Bow Uplift, is the oldest exposed formation of the Ouachitas. The
Atoka Formation, which was deposited much later during the
Pennsylvanian, has the largest areal extent of any of the
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ...
formations in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
.
The geologic formations of the Ouachitas are as follows (in order of ascending age).
History
The mountains were home to the
Ouachita tribe, for which they were named. Later French explorers translated the name to its present spelling. The first recorded exploration was in 1541 by
Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...
. Later, in 1804,
President Jefferson sent
William Dunbar and Dr. George Hunter to the area after the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...
.
Hot Springs National Park became one of the nation's first parks in 1832. The
Battle of Devil's Backbone was fought here at the ridge of the same name in 1863. In August 1990, the
U.S. Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...
discontinued
clearcutting
Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fores ...
as the primary tool for harvesting and regenerating short leaf, pine and hardwood forests in the Ouachita National Forest.
Tourism
The Ouachita Mountains contain the
Ouachita National Forest,
Hot Springs National Park and
Lake Ouachita, as well as numerous state parks and scenic byways mostly throughout Arkansas. They also contain the
Ouachita National Recreation Trail, a hiking trail through the heart of the mountains. The trail runs from Talimena State Park in Oklahoma to
Pinnacle Mountain State Park near
Little Rock
( The "Little Rock")
, government_type = Council-manager
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_party = D
, leader_title2 = Council
, leader_name2 ...
. It is a well maintained, premier trail for hikers, backpackers, and mountain bikers (for only selected parts of the trail).
The
Talimena Scenic Drive begins at
Mena
MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or ...
, and traverses of Winding Stair and Rich Mountains, long narrow east-west ridges which extend into Oklahoma.
Rich Mountain reaches an elevation of in Arkansas near the Oklahoma border. The two lane winding road is similar in routing, construction, and scenery to the
Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenan ...
of the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...
.
[http://www.trais.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=XFA101-040 , accessed 11 Mar 2011]
Sites of interest
*
Beavers Bend State Park
*
Black Fork Mountain Wilderness
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Caney Creek Wilderness
The Caney Creek Wilderness is a rugged 14,460-acre (58.5 km2) segment of the Ouachita National Forest just outside of the mountain town of Mena, Arkansas. It was designated by Congress in 1975 as the first wilderness area in Arkansas. The wild ...
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Cossatot River State Park-Natural Area
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Flatside Wilderness
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Heavener Runestone Park
Heavener Runestone Park (pronounced ) is a park located in Le Flore County, Oklahoma near the city of Heavener, Oklahoma. Formerly a state park of Oklahoma, it was transferred to the City of Heavener in 2011, and is now operated by the Friends ...
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Hot Springs National Park
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Jack Creek Recreation Area
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Lake Catherine
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Lake Hamilton Lake Hamilton or Hamilton Lake may refer to:
* Hamilton Lake (Alberta), Canada
* Hamilton Lake (Nova Scotia), Canada
* Lake Rotoroa (Hamilton, New Zealand) or Hamilton Lake, a lake in New Zealand
**Hamilton Lake (suburb), a residential suburb around ...
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Lake Maumelle
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Lake Ouachita
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Mount Magazine State Park
Mount Magazine State Park is a 2,234-acre park located in Logan County, Arkansas. Inhabited since the 1850s, Mount Magazine first became part of the Ouachita National Forest in 1938, was re-designated as part of the Ozark National Forest in 1941 ...
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Pinnacle Mountain State Park
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Queen Wilhelmina State Park
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Mount Nebo State Park
References
Further reading
James B. Calvert, 2003, ''The Ouachita System'', University of Denver
External links
dead link, date]
Friends of the Ouachita Trail (FoOT)Lakeouachita.org: Lake Ouachita— ''largest lake in the Ouachita Mountains''.
{{Authority control
Ouachita Mountains,
Mountain ranges of Arkansas
Mountain ranges of Oklahoma
Ouachita National Forest
U.S. Interior Highlands
Arkansas placenames of Native American origin
Landforms of Scott County, Arkansas
Landforms of Montgomery County, Arkansas
Landforms of Le Flore County, Oklahoma
Landforms of Polk County, Arkansas
Landforms of Yell County, Arkansas
Landforms of McCurtain County, Oklahoma
Landforms of Garland County, Arkansas
Landforms of Perry County, Arkansas
Landforms of Saline County, Arkansas
Landforms of Sebastian County, Arkansas
Landforms of Logan County, Arkansas
Landforms of Pike County, Arkansas
Landforms of Ashley County, Arkansas
Landforms of Howard County, Arkansas
Landforms of Hot Spring County, Arkansas