Editing Prairie County, Arkansas (section)

==Geography==
{{See also|Geography of Arkansas|Arkansas Delta#Grand Prairie}}
The county is located between two primary geographic regions of Arkansas: [[Central Arkansas]] and the [[Arkansas Delta]] (in Arkansas, usually referred to as "the Delta"). The Arkansas Delta is a subregion of the [[Mississippi Alluvial Plain]], which is a flat area consisting of rich, fertile sediment deposits from the [[Mississippi River]] between [[Louisiana]] and [[Illinois]]. The county is often described as being within the [[Arkansas Delta#Grand Prairie|Grand Prairie]], a subdivision of the Arkansas Delta known today for rice farming and aquaculture, rather than Central Arkansas or the Delta. It is this geographic feature from which the county derives its name.<ref name="eoc" >{{ Cite encyclopedia |title= Prairie County |url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=802 |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]] |publisher= Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System |date= April 27, 2016 |last= Sickel |first= Marilyn Hambrick Sickel |author2= Staff |access-date= December 5, 2016 }}</ref> According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|676|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|648|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|28|sqmi}} (4.1%) is water.<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 27, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref>

[[File:Bayou near Des Arc, AR.jpg|right|thumb|A minor bayou crosses Highway 33 and Highway 38 east of Des Arc]]
Prior to settlement, Prairie County was large, flat grassland distinct from the swamps and bayous in the nearby Delta. Although [[cotton]] and other [[row crops]] grew well in the Prairie's silty loam soil, rice production changed the cultivation patterns in the county at the turn of the nineteenth century.<ref name="eoc" /> Although some prairie and [[riparian]] areas has been preserved in conservation areas, a large portion (44 percent) of the county remains in cultivation.{{#tag:ref|In 2015, 103.9 thousand acres of soybeans, 63.2 thousand acres of rice, 12.1 thousand acres of corn, and 3.3 thousand acres of wheat were planted in Prairie County.<ref name=AgStats>{{cite web|title= National Agricultural Statistics Service County Level Data |url= http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Arkansas/Publications/County_Estimates/index.php |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture |access-date= December 5, 2016 |year= 2015 }}</ref> Total acreage for those crops is 182,600. Prairie County has 648 square miles of land area, which is 414,720 acres based on 640 acres per square mile. Acreage for the total crops (182,600) divided by acreage for the county (414,720) is 44.0&nbsp;percent.|group=Note}} Another large land use in Prairie County is the [[Cache River National Wildlife Refuge|Cache River NWR]] and [[Wattensaw Wildlife Management Area]] (WMA), owned by the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] and [[Arkansas Game and Fish Commission]], respectively.

The county is located approximately {{convert|53|mi|km}} east of [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]] and {{convert|90|mi|km}} west of [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Tennessee]].{{#tag:ref|Mileages from Prairie County to Little Rock and Memphis are based on highway miles using county seat DeValls Bluff for Prairie County.<ref>{{cite web
  |title=Google Maps (Search for DeValls Bluff, AR)
  |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/De+Valls+Bluff,+AR+72041/@34.7858251,-91.4734947,15z
  |access-date= December 5, 2016 }}</ref>
|group=Note}} Prairie County is surrounded by five other counties: [[White County, Arkansas|White County]] to the north, [[Woodruff County, Arkansas|Woodruff County]] to the northeast, [[Monroe County, Arkansas|Monroe County]] to the east, [[Arkansas County, Arkansas|Arkansas County]] to the south, and [[Lonoke County, Arkansas|Lonoke County]] to the west.

===Climate===
Prairie County has a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Cfa''). Prairie County experiences all four seasons, although summers can be extremely hot and humid and winters are mild with little snow. July is the hottest month of the year, with an average high of {{convert|92|°F|1}} and an average low of {{convert|73|°F|1}}. Temperatures above {{convert|100|°F}} are not uncommon. January is the coldest month with an average high of {{convert|48|°F|1}} and an average low of {{convert|31|°F|1}}. The highest temperature was {{convert|109|°F|1}}, and the lowest temperature recorded was {{convert|-5|°F}}. Record snowfall in Des Arc occurred January 7, 1912, with {{convert|18|in|cm}}.<ref name="snow" />

{{Weather box
| location    = Des Arc
| single line = Y
| Jan record high F = 80
| Feb record high F = 82
| Mar record high F = 88
| Apr record high F = 93
| May record high F = 98
| Jun record high F = 105
| Jul record high F = 109
| Aug record high F = 109
| Sep record high F = 104
| Oct record high F = 98
| Nov record high F = 87
| Dec record high F = 79
| year record high F = 109
| Jan high F = 48
| Feb high F = 53
| Mar high F = 63
| Apr high F = 72
| May high F = 81
| Jun high F = 88
| Jul high F = 92
| Aug high F = 91
| Sep high F = 84
| Oct high F = 74
| Nov high F = 62
| Dec high F = 51
| year high F = 
| Jan low F = 31
| Feb low F = 35
| Mar low F = 43
| Apr low F = 52
| May low F = 61
| Jun low F = 69
| Jul low F = 73
| Aug low F = 71
| Sep low F = 63
| Oct low F = 51
| Nov low F = 43
| Dec low F = 34
| year low F = 
| Jan record low F = −5
| Feb record low F = −4
| Mar record low F = 15
| Apr record low F = 28
| May record low F = 37
| Jun record low F = 
| Jul record low F = 55
| Aug record low F = 48
| Sep record low F = 34
| Oct record low F = 23
| Nov record low F = 13
| Dec record low F = −2
| year record low F = −5
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 3.5
| Feb precipitation inch = 4.1
| Mar precipitation inch = 4.8
| Apr precipitation inch = 5.2
| May precipitation inch = 5.1
| Jun precipitation inch = 3.2
| Jul precipitation inch = 3.1
| Aug precipitation inch = 2.4
| Sep precipitation inch = 3.9
| Oct precipitation inch = 4.5
| Nov precipitation inch = 5.0
| Dec precipitation inch = 5.2
| year precipitation inch =
| Jan snow inch = 1.0
| Feb snow inch = 0
| Mar snow inch = 0
| Apr snow inch = 0
| May snow inch = 0
| Jun snow inch = 0
| Jul snow inch = 0
| Aug snow inch = 0
| Sep snow inch = 0
| Oct snow inch = 0
| Nov snow inch = 0
| Dec snow inch = 0
| year snow inch = 
| source 1   = The Weather Channel<ref name= Weather.com >{{cite web
| url        = https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/USAR0152:1:US
| title      = Monthly Averages for Des Arc, AR
| access-date = December 18, 2016
| publisher  = [[The Weather Channel]]
| format     = Graph}}</ref>
| date       = January 2016
| source 2   = Weather Database<ref name="snow">{{cite web
 |url        = https://snowfall.weatherdb.com/l/11415/Hazen-Arkansas
 |title      = Monthly Snowfall Averages for Des Arc, AR
 |access-date = December 18, 2016
|publisher  = Weather Database
 |format     = Table
}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
}}