Editing Cross County, Arkansas (section)

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of Arkansas|Arkansas Delta|Crowley's Ridge}}
Cross County is established on the rich, fertile, alluvial soils of the [[Mississippi Alluvial Plain]]. In Arkansas, this region is called the [[Arkansas Delta]] (in Arkansas, usually referred to as "the Delta"), having a distinct history and culture from adjacent regions. Bisecting the county from north to south is [[Crowley's Ridge]], a geologic anomaly rising from the Delta composed of [[loess]] soil and generally remains covered in [[oak-hickory forest]]. Today, the majority (68 percent) of the county is used for row agriculture.{{#tag:ref|In 2018, 151.5 thousand acres of soybeans,<ref>{{ cite web |author= Staff of the Delta Region – Arkansas Field Office |title= Arkansas Soybean County Estimates |date= February 20, 2020 |publisher= [[United States Department of Agriculture]] [[National Agricultural Statistics Service]] |url=https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Arkansas/Publications/County_Estimates/2019/19_AR_soybean_all.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018033215/https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Arkansas/Publications/County_Estimates/2019/19_AR_soybean_all.pdf |archive-date=October 18, 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=November 1, 2020 }}</ref> 88.1 thousand acres of rice,<ref>{{ cite web |author= Staff of the Delta Region – Arkansas Field Office |title= Arkansas Rice County Estimates |date= March 5, 2020 |publisher= United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service |url=https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Arkansas/Publications/County_Estimates/2019/19_AR_rice.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018221322/https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Arkansas/Publications/County_Estimates/2019/19_AR_rice.pdf |archive-date=October 18, 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=November 1, 2020 }}</ref> and 19.8 thousand acres of corn<ref>{{ cite web |author= Staff of the Delta Region – Arkansas Field Office |title= Arkansas Corn County Estimates |date= February 20, 2020 |publisher= United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service |url=https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Arkansas/Publications/County_Estimates/2019/19_AR_corn.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017183825/https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Arkansas/Publications/County_Estimates/2019/19_AR_corn.pdf |archive-date=October 17, 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=November 1, 2020 }}</ref> were planted in Cross County. Total acreage for those crops is 259,400. Cross County is 622 square miles, which is 380,160 acres based on 640 acres per square mile. Acreage for the total crops (259,400) divided by acreage for the county (398,080) is 68.2&nbsp;percent. Cotton, sorghum, and wheat were also grown, but were not reported in sufficient quantities to warrant county-specific tabulation, so were not included in the planted acreage.<ref>{{ cite web |author= Staff of the Delta Region – Arkansas Field Office |title= Arkansas Cotton County Estimates |date= May 12, 2020 |publisher= United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service |url=https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Arkansas/Publications/County_Estimates/2019/19_AR_cotton_all.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018032835/https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Arkansas/Publications/County_Estimates/2019/19_AR_cotton_all.pdf |archive-date=October 18, 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=November 1, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite web |author= Staff of the Delta Region – Arkansas Field Office |title= Arkansas Wheat County Estimates |date= December 19, 2019 |publisher= United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service |url=https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Arkansas/Publications/County_Estimates/2019/19_AR_wheat.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017124233/https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Arkansas/Publications/County_Estimates/2019/19_AR_wheat.pdf |archive-date=October 17, 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=November 1, 2020 }}</ref> |group=Note}}

Roughly the western third of the county is within the [[Mississippi Alluvial Plain (ecoregion)#Western Lowlands Pleistocene Valley Trains (73g)|Western Lowlands Pleistocene Valley Train]] subregion of the Delta. This region is characterized as flat windblown deposits of silty, sandy soils, and [[loess]] with a high groundwater table. [[Post oak]] and [[loblolly pine]] are native in the higher elevations, with [[overcup oak]], [[water hickory]], [[willow oak]], and [[pin oak]] and [[pondberry]] native in [[wetlands]]. Today, [[row crop|row agriculture]] is extensive (mostly soybeans and cotton), with commercial [[aquaculture]] ([[crawfish]], baitfish, and [[catfish]] farms) also common.<ref name=ark4>{{USGS|title=Ecoregions of Arkansas|comment=color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs |author=Woods, A.J. |author2=Foti, T.L. |author3=Chapman, S.S. |author4=Omernik, J.M.|display-authors=et al |url=ftp://newftp.epa.gov/EPADataCommons/ORD/Ecoregions/ar/ar_front.pdf }}</ref>

Crowley's Ridge is a series of loess hills more closely associated with the [[Appalachian Mountains]] of [[Tennessee]] and [[Kentucky]] than the Delta country surrounding it. Composed of sandy loess stacked on gravel deposits later eroded by streams into ravines, Crowley's Ridge rises from the flat Delta by up to {{convert|500|ft|m}}. Crowley's Ridge remains largely wooded with [[oak-hickory forest]] or [[beech–maple forest]], with little land in cultivation. Forests are related to the [[Cove (Appalachian Mountains)#Cove forest|Appalachian cove forests]], with post oak, [[blackjack oak]], [[southern red oak]], [[white oak]], [[beech]] and [[sugar maple]] forest standing in contrast to the [[southern floodplain forest]]s in the rest of Cross County.<ref name="ark4" />

The eastern third of Cross County is split between the [[Mississippi Alluvial Plain (ecoregion)#Northern Holocene Meander Belts (73a)|Northern Holocene Meander Belts]] and [[St. Francis Lowlands]], both subregions historically influenced by the [[Mississippi River]]. Both regions are flat, poorly drained areas consisting of former river channels, drainageways, and floodplains drained in the late 19th century for settlement and row agriculture. Today consisting of farm fields, channelized [[ditch|drainage ditch]]es, [[levee]]s, the area is predominantly in soybean and cotton cultivation, with some corn, wheat, rice, and [[sorghum]]. Remaining natural areas consist of [[sugarberry]], [[elm]], [[ash tree]], [[pecan]], [[Populus heterophylla|cottonwood]], and [[Platanus occidentalis|sycamore]]s. Sandy "Sunk lands" are attributed to the [[1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes]].<ref name="ark4" />

Given Cross County's position along the [[Mississippi Flyway]], many natural areas and grain fields serve as wintering ground for water fowl. [[Duck hunting]] is popular in the Delta, including Cross County.<ref name="ark4" />

According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|622.33|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|615.85|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|6.48|sqmi}} (1.0%) is water.<ref name="area" /><ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_05.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 25, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref> It ranks 49th of the 75 Arkansas counties in area.

The county is located approximately {{convert|46|mi|km}} south of [[Jonesboro, Arkansas|Jonesboro]], {{convert|48|mi|km}} west of [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Tennessee]], and {{convert|105|mi|km}} east of [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]].{{#tag:ref|Mileages from Cross County to Jonesboro, Memphis, and Little Rock are based on highway miles using county seat Wynne for Cross County.<ref>{{cite web
  |title=Google Maps (Search for Wynne, AR)
  |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wynne,+AR+72396/@35.2310899,-90.8354309,13z
  |access-date= August 23, 2020 }}</ref>
|group=Note}} Cross County is surrounded by five other Delta counties: [[Crittenden County, Arkansas|Crittenden County]] to the east, [[St. Francis County, Arkansas|St. Francis County]] to the south, [[Woodruff County, Arkansas|Woodruff County]] to the west, [[Jackson County, Arkansas|Jackson County]] to the northwest, and [[Poinsett County, Arkansas|Poinsett County]] to the north.

===Hydrology===
[[File:St Francis River Parkin AR 2012-05-27 008.jpg|right|thumb|St. Francis River at Parkin]]
{{See also|List of lakes in Cross County, Arkansas}}
Water is an important part of Cross County's geography, history, and culture. Hydraulically, the county is split into two watersheds by Crowley's Ridge, with the eastern half draining to the [[St. Francis River]] or its tributaries, and the western half draining to the [[L'Anguille River]].

The deep, wide, calm, and navigable [[St. Francis River]] has been important for every civilization in Cross County since prehistory. The [[Casqui]] tribe settled in the area where the [[Tyronza River]] empties into the St. Francis. Today, this settlement is preserved within [[Parkin Archaeological State Park]]. Centuries later, European settlers founded [[Wittsburg, Arkansas|Wittsburg]] as a port city as the northernmost navigable point on the St. Francis a few miles downstream from Parkin, opening the region to regional trade. Within the county, Brushy Creek, Cross County Ditch, Copeland Slough, Prairie Creek, and Village Creek are important watercourses.<ref>{{ cite book |publisher= [[DeLorme]] |year= 2004 |title= Arkansas Atlas & Gazetteer |location=Yarmouth, Maine |isbn= 0-89933-345-1 |pages= 36, 44 }}</ref>

===Protected areas===
[[File:Village Creek State Park Wynne AR 52.jpg|right|thumb|This segment of the Memphis to Little Rock Road in Village Creek State Park is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] and is preserved as a trail]]
The largest protected area in Cross County is Village Creek State Park on Crowley's Ridge near Wynne. The park is known as a large section of preserved forest in its natural state within the Delta, a 27-hole golf course, catfish and bass fishing in the two lakes, horseback riding trails, and a hiking trail along the former [[Memphis to Little Rock Road|Memphis to Little Rock Military Road]].<ref>{{ cite web |first= Keith |last= Sutton |title=Fishing Arkansas state parks |work=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette |location=Little Rock |date= May 9, 2010 |publisher= WEHCO Media |page= 146 |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/13C478096659B408 |via=[[NewsBank]] }}</ref><ref>{{ cite web |first=Larry |last=Rea |title= Memphians Flock to Village Creek |work= [[The Memphis Commercial Appeal]] |location= Memphis, TN |date= August 7, 1998 |page=J10 |via= NewsBank |url= https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F7B90B9C3BA7AC0 }}</ref> The [[Parkin Archeological State Park]] in Parkin preserves a prehistoric [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] [[Mound Builders|mound building settlement]].

The [[Brushy Creek Wildlife Management Area]] is a small property reforested in [[bottomland hardwood forest]] by the [[Arkansas Game and Fish Commission]] near Hickory Ridge.<ref>{{ cite web |title=Brushy Creek Wildlife Management Area |url= https://www.deltabyways.com/things-to-do/brushy-creek-wildlife-management-area/ |publisher=Arkansas Delta Byways Tourism Association |year=2020 |access-date= December 13, 2020 }}</ref> The [[Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission]] maintains the Wittsburg Natural Area as natural Crowley's Ridge habitat,<ref>{{ cite web |title= Cross County |url=https://local.arkansas.gov/local.php?agency=Cross+County |publisher= Arkansas Municipal League |location= North Little Rock |year= 2020 |access-date= December 13, 2020 }}</ref> but there is no legal public access to the area.