Editing Miller County, Arkansas (section)

==Geography==
{{See also|Geography of Arkansas|Piney Woods}}
Miller County is located in the southwest corner of Arkansas in the [[Piney Woods]], a [[temperate coniferous forest]]. The forests of pine trees initially formed a logging and [[silviculture]] industry, though many fields have been cleared from the forest to grow rice, soybeans, corn, and vegetables.<ref name="eoc" >{{cite encyclopedia |title= Miller County |url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=790 |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]] |publisher= [[Butler Center for Arkansas Studies]] at the [[Central Arkansas Library System]] |date= April 20, 2017 |first= Beverly J. |last= Rowe |access-date= December 26, 2017 }}</ref> The county is also within the [[Ark-La-Tex]] region, sharing a [[tripoint]] with [[Texas]] and [[Louisiana]]. The Ark-La-Tex is an economic region anchored by [[Shreveport, Louisiana]], [[Tyler, Texas]], [[Longview, Texas]], and Texarkana. The [[Red River of the South|Red River]] serves as the northern and eastern boundary of the county, though the watercourse has shifted since the county's reestablishment in 1874. The original Red River continues to serve as the county line between Little River, Hempstead, and Lafayette counties in Arkansas.<ref name="mil">{{Cite map |author= Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department |publisher= Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department |title= General Highway Map, Miller County, Arkansas |url= http://www.arkansashighways.com/maps/Counties/County%20PDFs/MillerCounty.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423052643/http://www.arkansashighways.com/maps/Counties/County%20PDFs/MillerCounty.pdf |archive-date=April 23, 2012 |url-status=live |location= Little Rock |format= PDF |date= November 10, 2014 |scale= 1:62500 |access-date= December 26, 2017 }}</ref> According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], Miller County has a total area of {{convert|637.48|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|623.98|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|13.50|sqmi}} (2.1%) is water.<ref name="area" />

The county is located approximately {{convert|143|mi|km}} southwest of [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]], {{convert|73|mi|km}} north of [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], and {{convert|204|mi|km}} east of the [[Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex]] (DFW) in [[Texas]].{{#tag:ref|Mileages from Miller County to Little Rock, Shreveport, and DFW are based on highway miles using county seat Texarkana, Arkansas for Miller County.<ref>{{cite web
  |title=Google Maps (Search for Texarkana, AR)
  |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Texarkana,+AR+71854/@33.4335602,-94.1196676,11z
  |access-date= December 26, 2017 }}</ref>
|group=Note}} Miller County is surrounded by three Arkansas counties: [[Little River County, Arkansas|Little River County]] to the north, [[Hempstead County, Arkansas|Hempstead County]] to the northeast, [[Lafayette County, Arkansas|Lafayette County]] to the east; two Louisiana [[List of parishes in Louisiana|parishes]]: [[Bossier Parish, Louisiana|Bossier Parish]] to the southeast and [[Caddo Parish, Louisiana|Caddo Parish]], to the south; and two Texas counties to the west: [[Cass County, Texas|Cass]] and [[Bowie County, Texas|Bowie]].

===Ecology===
<!-- {{Main article|South Central Plains (ecoregion)}} -->
Miller County is within the [[South Central Plains (ecoregion)|South Central Plains]] [[List of ecoregions in the United States (EPA)|Level III ecoregion]] designated by the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]]. Within the region, the county contains parts of four different Level IV ecoregions. Throughout the South Central Plains, forests are mostly swamp - southern floodplain forest, unlike the oak–hickory–pine forest of higher, better drained forests in adjacent eco-regions.

Along the north and eastern county boundary, the [[Red River Bottomlands]] follows the Red River. This eco-region contains floodplains, low terraces, oxbow lakes, meander scars, backswamps, natural levees, and the meandering Red River. Natural vegetation is southern floodplain forest unlike the oak–hickory– pine forest of higher, better drained compared to adjacent forests. However, the region has widely been cleared and drained for agriculture. The Red River is almost continuously turbid; suspended sediment concentrations are usually much higher than in the [[Saline River (Ouachita River tributary)|Saline River]] or [[Ouachita River]] due to land cover, land use, and upstream lithology differences.

South of Texarkana, the [[Floodplains and Low Terraces]] eco-region follows the Sulphur River. It contains frequently flooded forested wetlands, natural levees, swales, oxbow lakes, and meander scars. Longitudinal channel gradients are low and are less than in the [[Ouachita Mountains]]. North of the low terraces, a small strip of [[Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces]] ecoregion contains level, poorly-drained, periodically wet soils underlain by Pleistocene unconsolidated terrace deposits. [[Loblolly pine]] and oaks are common and are adapted to the prevailing hydroxeric regime; pastureland and hayland are less extensive. A vertical sequence of terraces occurs. The lowest terrace is nearly flat, clayey, and has extensive hardwood wetlands. Higher terraces become progressively older and more dissected; they are dominated by pine flatwoods, pine savanna, or prairie; flatwood wetlands are less extensive than on the lowest terrace. The mid-level terrace is veneered with windblown silt deposits ([[loess]]). Streams tend to be mildly acidic and stained by organic matter. They have more suspended solids, greater turbidity, and higher hardness values than the Tertiary Uplands.<ref name=ark4>{{USGS|title=Ecoregions of Arkansas|comment=color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs |last1=Woods|first1=AJ|last2=Foti|first2=TL|last3=Chapman|first3=SS|last4=Omernik|first4=JM |display-authors=et al | url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Level_IV_ecoregions,_Arkansas.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802105344/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Level_IV_ecoregions,_Arkansas.pdf |archive-date=August 2, 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Hydrology===
{{See also|List of lakes in Miller County, Arkansas}}
Miller County is within the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] [[Drainage basin|watershed]]. The historic channel of the Red River defines the northern and eastern boundary of Miller County.<ref name="mil" /> The [[Sulphur River]], McKinney Bayou, and [[Bois D'Arc Creek (Arkansas)|Bois D'Arc Creek]] are also important water courses in the county; all tributary to the Red River.<ref>{{ cite web |author= Office of Water Quality |title= Integrated Water Quality Monitoring Assessment Report |url= https://www.adeq.state.ar.us/water/planning/integrated/303d/pdfs/2016/final-2016-305b-report.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407024740/https://www.adeq.state.ar.us/water/planning/integrated/303d/pdfs/2016/final-2016-305b-report.pdf |archive-date=April 7, 2020 |url-status=live |publisher= [[Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality]] |location= North Little Rock, Arkansas |year= 2016 |access-date=April 6, 2020 }}</ref> Swamps and bayous along the Sulphur River drain much of the western part of Miller County. A levee in the eastern part of Miller County delineates the border between the McKinney Bayou watershed, with everything east of the levee within the Red River [[floodplain]].<ref>{{Cite map |year= 2004 |publisher = DeLorme |title = Arkansas Atlas and Gazetteer |edition = Second |sections = 55, 60 |location= [[Yarmouth, Maine]] |isbn= 978-0-89933-345-8 |oclc= 780322182 }}</ref> Areas within the levee are frequently subject to inundation by the Red, including a town evacuation of [[Garland City, Arkansas|Garland City]] in 2015.<ref>{{ cite web |title= Evacuation lifted for Arkansas town as Red River recedes |publisher= Associated Press |date= June 6, 2015 |via=NewsBank |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/155CD5BEC42F22F0 |access-date=April 6, 2020 }}</ref>

===Protected areas===
Miller County contains two protected areas: the Sandhills Natural Area owned by the [[Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission]] (ANHC), and the Sulphur River [[List of Arkansas Wildlife Management Areas|Wildlife Management Areas]] (WMA), owned by the [[Arkansas Game and Fish Commission]] (AGFC). The Sandhills Natural Area preserves {{convert|274|acre|ha}} of undisturbed sandhill vegetation along rolling hills and sandy soils.<ref>{{ cite map |title= Miller County Sandhills Natural Area |url= http://www.naturalheritage.com/Natural_Areas/Country_Locator/Miller_Co_Sandhills_County_Locator.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227123402/http://www.naturalheritage.com/Natural_Areas/Country_Locator/Miller_Co_Sandhills_County_Locator.pdf |archive-date=December 27, 2017 |url-status=live |publisher= Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission |location= Little Rock |date= May 4, 2012 |access-date= December 26, 2017 }}</ref> It is a home to at least 40 rare species of plants, the most of any ANHC Natural Area.<ref>{{cite web |title= Arkansas Native Plant Society Makes Big Finds |date= October 28, 2014 |url= http://www.naturalheritage.com/blog/arkansas-native-plant-society-makes-big-finds |publisher= Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission |location= Little Rock |access-date= December 26, 2017 }}</ref> The Sulphur River WMA preserves {{convert|16520|acre}} of [[bottomland hardwood forest]], [[Taxodium|cypress]] breaks, [[oxbow lake]]s, and bayous along the Red River Valley. Established in the 1950s, the area is open to [[birding]], camping, hunting, fishing, and hiking. Within the WMA, {{convert|500|acre}} is maintained as the Henry Moore Waterfowl Rest Area.<ref>{{ cite map |title= Sulphur River WMA |url= https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/770/ |publisher= Arkansas Game and Fish Commission |location= Little Rock |year=2017 |access-date= December 27, 2017 }}</ref>