Arkansas

Arkansas became the 25th state to enter the Union in 1836. During the American Civil War, Arkansas was one of the Confederate states, however, it was the second state to be put back in to the U.S. in the Reconstruction. Native Americans first settled in the state before the arrival of Europeans. African American slaves were imported to Arkansas for slavery.

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  View from the summit of Petit Jean Mountain, in the Arkansas River Valley, from Mather Lodge in Petit Jean State Park.
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  The Ouachita River runs through the Ouachita National Forest.
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  Blanchard Springs Caverns in Stone County is a popular tourist destination.
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  The Buffalo National River, one of many attractions that give the state's nickname The Natural State.
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  Flatside Wilderness Area, Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas

Arkansas has many rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Arkansas has few natural lakes but many reservoirs such as Bull Shoals Lake, Lake Ouachita, Greers Ferry Lake, Millwood Lake, Beaver Lake, Norfork Lake, DeGray Lake, and Lake Conway.^[6]

Arkansas is home to many caves, such as Blanchard Springs Caverns. More than 43,000 Native American living, hunting and tool making sites have been catalogued by the State Archeologist. Arkansas is currently the only U.S. state in which diamonds are mined. This is done by members of the public with primitive digging tools for a small daily fee, not by commercial interests.^[7][8]

Arkansas is home to a bunch of wood Areas adding around 150,000 acres (610 km²). These areas are set for outdoor playing and are open to hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping. No vehicles are able to drive in these areas.

Arkansas, like most other Southern states, is part of the Bible Belt. It is mostly Protestant. The largest denominations by number of followers in 2000 were the Southern Baptist Convention with 665,307; the United Methodist Church with 179,383; the Roman Catholic Church with 115,967; and the American Baptist Association with 115,916.^[9]

Education in Arkansas has been an issue. Part of the problem has been low teacher salaries and small budgets for spending on students. Other problems have been not wanting to integrate, and poor school facilities.^[10]

Arkansas has two university systems: Arkansas State University System and University of Arkansas System. Some other public institutions are Arkansas Tech University, Henderson State University, Southern Arkansas University, and University of Central Arkansas. It is also home to 11 private colleges and universities. One of them being Hendrix College, one of the nation's top 100 liberal arts colleges, according to U.S. News & World Report.^[11]

Arkansas is liked for its bauxite mines. Arkansas was also the first U.S. state where diamonds were found. Liked Arkansans are Bill Clinton, who was governor of Arkansas before he became the President of the United States, Sam Walton, the ceo of Wal-Mart, Johnny Cash, a famous guitar player known as "The Man In Black", and Rodger Bumpass, Who is the voice Squidward Tentacles on the Nickelodeon show SpongeBob SquarePants.

Arkansas is home to many areas protected by the National Park System. These include:^[12]

• Arkansas Post National Memorial at Gillett
• Buffalo National River
• Fort Smith National Historic Site
• Hot Springs National Park
• Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
• Pea Ridge National Military Park
• President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site
• Clinton House Museum

• List of counties in Arkansas
• List of rivers of Arkansas