Editing Arkansas County, Arkansas (section)

==Geography==
{{See also|Geography of Arkansas|Arkansas Delta}}
Arkansas County is located in the Arkansas Delta (in Arkansas, usually referred to as "the Delta") 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]].<ref name="eoc" >{{ Cite encyclopedia |title= Randolph County |url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=803 |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]] |publisher= Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System |date= January 23, 2016 |first= Derek Allen |last= Clements |access-date= December 18, 2016 }}</ref>

{{multiple image |align=left |direction= vertical |width= 250 |footer=Top: Aerial view of the confluence of the Arkansas and White Rivers, with typical forested riparian boundary, trees, and oxbow lakes.<br>Bottom: Rice field near Stuttgart |image1= Arkansas Post National Memorial ARPO0605.jpg |image2= Rice_plot_in_Arkansas.jpg |alt2= Photo of a flat, agricultural landscape with a black asphalt roadway running directly toward a tree line on the distant horizon.}}
Within the Delta, Arkansas County is almost entirely within the [[Arkansas Delta#Grand Prairie|Grand Prairie]] subregion, historically a flat grassland plain underlain by an impermeable clay layer (the Stuttgart soil series). Prior to the 19th century, flatter areas with slowly to very slowly permeable soils (often containing [[fragipan]]s) supported Arkansas's largest prairie, covered in prairie grasses and forbs, with oaks covering the low hills and ridges, and pockets of floodplains with bottomland hardwood forests. This region was a sharp contrast to the bottomland forests that once dominated other parts of the [[Mississippi Alluvial Plain]]. Cropland has now largely replaced the native vegetation. Distinctively, rice is the main crop; soybeans, cotton, corn, and wheat are also grown. The rice fields provide habitat and forage for large numbers and many species of waterfowl; duck and goose hunting occurs at this important spot along the [[Mississippi Flyway]].<ref name=ark4>{{USGS|title=Ecoregions of Arkansas |comment=color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs |author1= Woods, A.J. |author2=Foti, T.L. |author3=Chapman, S.S. |author4=Omernik, J.M. |display-authors=etal | 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>

Two different eco-regions border the Grand Prairie along the major rivers forming the county's east and southern boundaries: the Arkansas River Holocene Meander Belt and the Western Lowlands Holocene Meanders. These areas of flat floodplain contain the meander belts of the present and past watercourses, point bars, natural [[levee]]s, [[Swale (landform)|swale]]s, and abandoned river channels. Some of the most extensive remaining tracts of native [[bottomland hardwood forest]] in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain remain along these rivers. Along the banks of the White River in Arkansas County, these forests are preserved in the [[White River National Wildlife Refuge]].<ref name="ark">{{Cite map |author= Planning and Research Division |publisher= Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department |title= General Highway Map, Arkansas County, Arkansas |url= http://www.arkansashighways.com/maps/Counties/County%20PDFs/ArkansasCounty.pdf |orig-year= September 30, 2009 |location= Little Rock |format= PDF |date= January 11, 2011 |scale= 1:62,500 |oclc= 908640315 |access-date= May 6, 2018 |archive-date= October 2, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181002153711/http://www.arkansashighways.com/maps/Counties/County%20PDFs/ArkansasCounty.pdf |url-status= dead }}</ref>

According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|1033.79|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|988.49|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|45.30|sqmi}} (4.4%) is water.<ref name="area" />

The county is located approximately {{convert|55|mi|km}} east of [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]], {{convert|112|mi|km}} southwest of [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Tennessee]], and {{convert|367|mi|km}} northeast of the [[Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex]] (DFW) in [[Texas]].{{#tag:ref|Mileages from Arkansas County to Little Rock, Memphis, and DFW are based on highway miles using northern district county seat Stuttgart for Arkansas County.<ref>{{cite web
  |title=Google Maps (Search for Stuttgart, AR)
  |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Stuttgart,+AR+72455/@36.2663518,-91.040679,12z
  |access-date= May 6, 2018 }}</ref>
|group=Note}} Arkansas County is surrounded by [[Prairie County, Arkansas|Prairie County]] to the north, [[Monroe County, Arkansas|Monroe County]] to the northeast, [[Phillips County, Arkansas|Phillips County]]  to the east, [[Desha County, Arkansas|Desha County]] to the south, [[Lincoln County, Arkansas|Lincoln County]]  to the southwest, [[Jefferson County, Arkansas|Jefferson County]] to the west, and [[Lonoke County, Arkansas|Lonoke County]] to the northwest.

===Hydrology===
{{See also|List of lakes in Arkansas County, Arkansas}}
[[File:Lower White Lake - panoramio.jpg|upright|right|thumb|[[Bald cypress]] trees along the shores of Lower White Lake]]
Water is an extremely important part of Arkansas County's geography, history, economy, and culture. The many rivers, streams, and ditches crossing the county have featured prominently since prehistoric times, and many of the hundreds of archaeological sites, including the [[Menard–Hodges site]], are along waterways. The navigability of the Arkansas River has been important for every civilization in Arkansas County since prehistory. Tribes of [[Quapaw]], [[Casqui]], and [[Mississippian culture]]s were settled in the area along the rivers. Three major rivers form much of the county's boundaries: Arkansas River, [[Bayou Meto, Arkansas County, Arkansas|Bayou Meto]], and the [[White River (Arkansas)|White River]]. Within the county, [[La Grue Bayou]] is an important watercourse.

Rivers brought early prosperity to the county during white settlement for navigation. The county saw battles for control of the rivers during the [[American Revolution]] in 1783 at [[Colbert raid|Arkansas Post]], and the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] in 1862 and 1863 at [[Battle of St. Charles|Saint Charles]] and [[Battle of Arkansas Post (1863)|Fort Hindman]], respectively.

===Protected areas===
Several agencies own and maintain areas of natural and cultural value for enjoyment and use by residents and visitors of Arkansas County. Along the county's eastern boundary, {{convert|99.3|sqmi|sqkm}} of the [[Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge]] protect [[Mississippi lowland forests]] along the White River. In the western part of the county, {{convert|39.3|sqmi|sqkm}} of the George H. Dunklin Jr. Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area is managed by the [[Arkansas Game and Fish Commission]] to preserve natural woodlands and wetlands for wintering waterfowl within the Mississippi Flyway. At the southern tip of the county, the [[bottomland hardwood forest]] area between the Arkansas and White is preserved in the Trusten Holder WMA. The area is well known for hunting and fishing, and [[bald eagle]] watching in winter.<ref>{{cite web |title= Trusten Holder WMA |publisher= Arkansas Game and Fish Commission |url= https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/774/ |year= 2018 |access-date= July 1, 2018 }}</ref> The AGFC also maintains the Ethel WMA, a {{convert|176|acre|ha|adj=on}} area known for small game hunting, formerly open only to residents of [[Ethel, Arkansas|Ethel]].<ref>{{ cite web |title= Ethel WMA |publisher= Arkansas Game and Fish Commission |url= https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/691/ |year= 2018 |access-date= July 1, 2018 }}</ref>

[[File:Arkansas Post National Memorial 002.jpg|thumb|right|A "ghost" townsite is laid out at [[Arkansas Post|Arkansas Post National Memorial]], marking original locations of homes, blacksmith shops, and Arkansas's first territorial capitol.]]
The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission maintains two small sites in Arkansas County: the Roth Prairie Natural Area and the Striplin Woods Natural Area. Roth Prairie is a flat {{convert|41|acre|ha}} plot south of Stuttgart, one of the few remaining [[tallgrass prairie]]s typical of the Grand Prairie prior to leveling and clearing for human settlement.<ref>{{ cite map |title= Roth Prairie Natural Area |url=http://www.naturalheritage.com/Natural_Areas/Boundry_Map/Roth_Prairie_Boundary.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702011508/http://www.naturalheritage.com/Natural_Areas/Boundry_Map/Roth_Prairie_Boundary.pdf |archive-date=July 2, 2018 |url-status=live |publisher= Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission |location= Little Rock |date=September 19, 2006 |access-date=July 1, 2018 }}</ref> Striplin Woods preserves a very biodiverse section of old growth bottomland hardwood forest along the White River located within the White River NWR, and is comanaged with the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]].<ref>{{ cite map |title= Striplin Woods Natural Area |url=http://www.naturalheritage.com/natural-areas/striplin-woods-natural-area |publisher= Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission |location= Little Rock |date=September 19, 2006 |access-date=July 1, 2018 }}</ref>

Along the Arkansas, the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] maintains a total of 160 campgrounds at Merrisach, Notrebes Bend, Pendleton Bend, and Wilbur D. Mills Use Areas, each with electric hookups, boat ramps, and restroom facilities.<ref>{{harvp|"ADPT"|2017|pp= 29-30}}.</ref> The Corps also maintains the Moore Bayou Day Use Area on the Arkansas, providing access to the Arkansas Post Water Trail, and Wild Goose Bayou Day Use Area on the Arkansas Canal.<ref>{{harvp|"ADPT"|2017|p= 29}}.</ref>

The primary cultural site in Arkansas County is [[Arkansas Post]], the historic [[entrepot]] near the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers, and early epicenter of European settlement in the region. Founded in 1686, Arkansas Post was established at various sites near the confluence, often moving after flood events. Though remains of the post have been lost by movements of the Arkansas River, a small townsite is preserved as the Arkansas Post National Memorial. The nearby [[Arkansas Post State Park]] preserves the history of early settlement on the Grand Prairie through a five-building museum. The central structure is the 1877 Refeld-Hinman [[dogtrot house]].