Arkansas is a state in the southern region of the United States, home to over 3 million people as of 2018. Its name is of Siouan derivation from the language of the Osage denoting their related kin, the Quapaw Indians. The state's diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the densely forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta.
Union County is a county located on the central southern border of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,639. The county seat is El Dorado. The county was formed on November 2, 1829, and named in recognition of the citizens' petition for a new county, which said that they were petitioning "in the spirit of Union and Unity." The county is directly adjacent to the south to Union Parish in the state of Louisiana.
Lonoke County is a county located in the Central Arkansas region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,356, making it the eleventh-most populous of Arkansas's seventy-five counties. The county seat is Lonoke and largest city is Cabot. Lonoke County was formed on April 16, 1873 from Pulaski County and Prairie County, and was named as a corruption of "lone oak", after a large red oak in the area that had been used by a surveyor to lay out the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad.
Desha County is a county located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of Arkansas, with its eastern border the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,008. It ranks fifty-sixth of Arkansas's seventy-five counties in terms of population. The county seat is Arkansas City. Located in the Arkansas Delta, Desha County's rivers and fertile soils became prosperous for planters under the cotton-based economy of plantation agriculture in the antebellum years and late nineteenth century. Still largely rural, it has suffered population losses and economic decline since the mid-20th century.
Bentonville is the ninth-largest city in Arkansas, United States and the county seat of Benton County. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers adjacent to the east. The city is the birthplace and world headquarters of Walmart, the world's largest retailer. It is one of the four main cities in the four-county Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ranked 109th in terms of population in the United States with 463,204 residents in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau. The city itself had a population of 35,301 at the 2010 Census, with an estimated population of 49,298 in 2017.
Centerton is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Located west of Bentonville on Highway 102, Centerton has grown from a railroad stop and fruit orchard community in the early 20th century into a suburban bedroom community within the rapidly growing Northwest Arkansas (NWA) region. The city's population has grown from 491 in 1990 to 12,861 in 2016.
Springdale is the fourth-largest city in Arkansas, United States. It is located in both Washington and Benton counties in Northwest Arkansas. Located on the Springfield Plateau deep in the Ozark Mountains, Springdale has long been an important industrial city for the region. In addition to several trucking companies, the city is home to the world headquarters of Tyson Foods, the world's largest meat producing company. Originally named Shiloh, the city changed its name to Springdale when applying for a post office in 1872. The four-county Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked 109th in terms of population in the United States with 463,204 in 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau. The city had a population of 69,797 at the 2010 Census.
Pine Bluff is the tenth-largest city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combined Statistical Area. The population of the city was 49,083 in the 2010 Census with 2017 estimates showing a decline to 42,984.
Mountain View is the largest city in and the county seat of Stone County, Arkansas, United States. Located in the Ozarks, the city has a rich tradition of preserving folk music and culture. Founded in 1873, the city's economy is largely based on tourism related to its title as the "Folk Music Capitol of the World". Mountain View hosts the Arkansas Folk Festival in April, various folk artists at Ozark Folk Center State Park throughout the year, and weekly music gatherings on the courthouse steps that are free and open to the public. The city is also known for outdoors recreation opportunities, including Blanchard Springs Caverns, trout fishing on the White River and the Ozark National Forest.
The Ozarks, also called the Ozark Mountains or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and extreme southeastern Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portion of northern Arkansas and most of the southern half of Missouri, extending from Interstate 40 in Arkansas to the Interstate 70 in central Missouri.
The Memphis–Forrest City Combined Statistical Area, TN–MS–AR (CSA) is the commercial and cultural hub of The Mid-South or Ark-Miss-Tenn. The census defined combined statistical area covers ten counties in three states – Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. As of census 2010 the MSA had a population of 1,324,108. The Forrest City Micropolitan area was added to the Memphis area in 2012 to form the Memphis–Forrest City Combined Statistical area and had a population of 1,369,548 according to census estimates. The greater Mid-South area as a whole has a population of 2.4 million according to 2013 census estimates. This area is covered by Memphis local news channels and includes the Missouri Bootheel, Northeast Arkansas, West Tennessee, and North Mississippi.
The State of Arkansas has a total of eight metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) that are fully or partially located in the state. Twenty of the state's 75 counties are classified by the United States Census Bureau as metropolitan.
The Arkansas Timberlands is a region of the U.S. state of Arkansas generally encompassing the area south of the Ouachita Mountains, south of Central Arkansas and west of the Arkansas Delta. With several different definitions in use by various state agencies, the Arkansas Timberlands is essentially a region known for dense pine and cypress forests covering hilly terrain and lining numerous rivers. Modern settlement created a significant logging industry and subsequent clearance agriculture which provided the basis of the local economy until the discovery of petroleum. Local tourism is largely based on the popularity of deer hunting and bass fishing. Attractions there include Marks' Mills Battleground Historical Monument, Jenkins' Ferry Battleground Historical Monument, Overflow National Wildlife Refuge, Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, South Arkansas Arboretum, Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources, White Oak Lake State Park, Poison Springs Battleground State Park, Millwood State Park, and Pond Creek National Wildlife Refuge. The Arkansas Timberlands is the birthplace of former President of the United States Bill Clinton.
The history of Arkansas began millennia ago when humans first crossed into North America. Many tribes used Arkansas as their hunting lands but the main tribe was the Quapaw, who settled in Arkansas River delta upon moving south from Illinois. Early French explorers gave the territory its name, a corruption of Akansea, which is a phonetic spelling of the Illinois word for the Quapaw. This phonetic heritage explains why "Arkansas" is pronounced so differently than "Kansas" even though they share the same spelling. What began as a rough wilderness inhabited by trappers and hunters became incorporated into the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and became Arkansas Territory in 1819. Upon gaining statehood in 1836, Arkansas had begun to prosper under a plantation economy that was heavily reliant on slave labor. After the Civil War Arkansas was a poor rural state based on cotton. Prosperity returned in the 1940s. The state became famous for its political leadership, including President Bill Clinton, and as the base for the Walmart Corporation.
The Four State Area or Quad State Area, is the area where the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma touch. The Tulsa, Oklahoma; Joplin, Missouri; and Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Arkansas metropolitan areas are located within the region. Notable cities and towns in the area are Tulsa, and Miami, Oklahoma; Pittsburg, Kansas; Joplin, Springfield, and Monett, Missouri; and Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville, Arkansas.
The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox, says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep South."
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. state of Arkansas.
The economy of Arkansas produced US$119 billion of gross domestic product in 2015. Six Fortune 500 companies are based in Arkansas, including the world's #1 corporation, Walmart. Arkansas's per capita income for 2010 was $36,027. The three-year median household income from 2009-11 was $39,806, ranking forty-ninth in the nation.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Arkansas:
The 1930 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1930, to elect the Governor of Arkansas, concurrently with the election to Arkansas's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
