Arkansas' state motto is "The Natural State" and that tells you a lot. It has great state parks with wilderness comprising broad leaf forests.
The north west has the Ozark Mountains while the south and east of the state has flatter land and shows more of its agricultural heritage.
The Mississippi River forms the eastern border of the state and gives a great blues music heritage, great country music elsewhere (Johnny Cash was an Arkansan) and folk and bluegrass music are everywhere.
There are wonderful state parks with camping facilities and some with cabins. The Buffalo River has majestic scenery and easy canoe trips (but go in late spring to be sure there is enough water). The summer is very hot and humid; spring and autumn are wetter but mostly from intermittent heavy rain showers. Winter brings a little snow, but this time of year can still be humid. Spring is tornado season.
The spelling and pronunciation of "Arkansas" (it is always ar-kan-saw) reflect the state's heritage. The name is a French pronunciation of a Sioux word meaning "land of downriver people" and was prescribed by law in 1881. It is technically still illegal to mispronounce the name (the law contains a clause stating that "the variation ar-KAN-sas is an innovation to be discouraged"),
The Buffalo River is one of the few remaining unpolluted, free-flowing rivers in the lower 48 states offering both swift-running and placid stretches. The Buffalo National River encompasses 135 miles of the 150-mile long river. Following what is likely an ancient riverbed, the Buffalo cuts its way through massive limestone bluffs travelling eastward through the Ozarks and into the White River. The national river has three designated wilderness areas within its boundaries.
Text from Wikitravel Arkansas where additional general information can be found. Please share your knowledge by editing the pages of Wikitravel.
|
