The Ouachita Mountains ( ), referred to only as Ouachitas , are mountains in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a large series of highly defective Paleozoic strata that form the Ochachita Fold and Thrust Belt, one of North America's important orogenic belts. Ouachitas continue beneath the surface to the southeast where they make a poorly understood relationship with Appalachian and to the southwest where they join the Marathon region in western Texas. Together with the Ozark Plateaus, Ouachitas formed the US Plateau. The highest natural point is Mount Magazine at 2,753 feet.
Video Ouachita Mountains
Etimologi
Louis R. Harlan claims that "Ouachita" consists of the words Choctaw ouac for buffalo and chito for large, together which means "big buffalo state". At one time, buffalo herds inhabited the lowlands of Ouachitas. Historian Muriel H. Wright writes that "Ouachita" consists of Choctaw owa words for hunting and chito for large, together meaning "great hunting away from home". According to the article Ouachita in the Encyclopedia of History and Culture of Oklahoma , â € Å"Ouachitaâ € is derived from the French spelling of the word Caddo washita , which means "good hunting ground". Maps Ouachita Mountains
Geography
Ouachitas is the main physiographic province of Arkansas and Oklahoma and is generally grouped with the Arkansas River Basin. Together with the Ozark Plateaus, Ouachitas form the US Highlands, one of several mountainous areas between Appalachian and the Rockies.
Flora
Ouachitas are dominated by pine, oak, and hickory. The Pinus echinata (Pinus echinata) and post oak (Quercus stellata) thrive in dry, nutrient-poor soil in the highlands. Oak leaf maple ( Quercus acerifolia ) is found in only four sites around the world, all in Ouachitas. Some native tree species, such as eastern red cedar ( Juniperus virginiana ), are colonizers of disturbed human sites.
Ouachita National Forest covers about 1.8 million hectares of Ouachitas. This is one of South America's largest and oldest national forests, made by executive order by President Theodore Roosevelt on December 18, 1907. There are six wilderness areas in Ouachita National Forest, a protected area designed to minimize the impact of human activities.
Fauna
Bison and deer have found habitats in the Ouachita Mountains, but have since been extinct. Currently, there is a large population of white-tailed deer, coyotes, and other temperate forest animals. Though elusive, hundreds of black bears roam the plains of Ouachitas. Some species of salamanders are endemic in Ouachitas and have properties that vary from one locality to another.
Subranges
The Athens Piedmont consists of a series of low mountains, no more than 1,000 feet. Located south of Ouachitas and extending from Arkadelphia, Arkansas to the Arkansas-Oklahoma border. The Athens Piedmont runs through Clark, Howard, Pike, and Sevier County in Arkansas and McCurtain County in Oklahoma.
The Caddo , Cossatot , and Missouri mountains are a group of tall and dense mountains consisting of weather-resistant Arkansas Novaculite. They are located primarily in Montgomery and Polk County, Arkansas. The highest natural point is Raspberry Mountain at 2,358 feet. Upstream areas of several rivers are found in this area, including the Caddo River, Cossatot, and Little Missouri.
The Cross Mountains are located in Polk and Sevier County, Arkansas and McCurtain County, Oklahoma. The highest natural point is Whiskey Peak at 1,670 feet.
The Crystal Mountains are located primarily in Montgomery County, Arkansas. They are named so because of the occurrence of some of the best quartz in the world. The Crystal Mountains are generally taller than the nearby Zig Zag Mountains, reaching more than 1,800 feet altitude.
The Fourche Mountains is a long and continuous mountain range consisting of weather-resistant Sandstone Jackfork. They stretch from Pulaski County, Arkansas to Atoka County, Oklahoma and are home to several popular sites of interest, including Pinnacle Mountain State Park near Little Rock, Arkansas. The highest natural point is Mount Kaya at 2,681 feet, which cuts the Arkansas-Oklahoma border near Mena, Arkansas. The Fourche Mountains form a huge gap between the Arkansas River Valley in the north and the Red River Valley to the south.
The Ouachita Frontal Mountains are located in the Arkansas River Valley and feature a number of isolated landscapes. The highest natural point is Mount Magazine at 2,753 feet, which is also the highest natural point of the Ouachitas and the US Plateau. The Frontal Ouachita Mountains are structurally very different from the rest of Ouachitas and are sometimes regarded as separate distances.
The Mountain Trap is located primarily in Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas. The highest natural point is Mount Trap at 1,310 feet.
The Zig Zag Mountains is located in Garland County, Arkansas and is home to the hot springs of Hot Springs National Park. They are so named because of their unique chevron shape when viewed from above, resulting from plunging anticlines and synclines. The Zig Zag mountains are not very high, but reach a height of more than 1,400 feet.
Geology
Ouachitas are formed by a large series of highly defective Paleozoic strata that make up the Folding Belt and Push Ouachita, which is about 220 miles west of Arkansas and southeast of Oklahoma. In a general sense, Ouachitas are considered anticlinorium because the oldest known rocks are located in the center of the outcrop. Ouachitas continue below the surface to the Black Warrior Basin of Alabama and Mississippi where they plunge into the Appalachian Mountains. In the southwest, the Ouachitas join the Marathon area in west Texas where the rocks from Fold and Thrust Belt Ouachita are briefly affected.
Unlike many ranges in the United States, the Ouachitas are mostly east-west. They are unique because of metamorphism and volcanism, a feature common in orogenic belts, especially none (with the exception of some low-level metamorphisms). Due to the high degree of folding and faulting, the Ouachitas are grouped into distinct subranges, with backs separated by relatively wide valleys.
Ouachitas is known for some of the best quartz in the world, especially around Mt Ida, Arkansas, the quartz capital of the world. Quartz formed after Ouachita Orogeny when the fracture in the rock is filled with saturated fluid of silica and, for millions of years, the crystals are precipitated up to several feet long. Ouachitas are also known as novaculites, various varieties that have undergone low-level metamorphism; special values ​​found only in Arkansas are used to make grindstones.
History
The Cambrian through the Mississippian layers of Ouachitas is deposited in a narrow two-sided basin called Trough Ouachita, which forms as part of a failed cracking system in Cambrian. Successful strata of Pennsylvania from Ouachitas are kept in the foreland basin during the early stages of Ouachita Orogeny. Subduction of the South American Plate under the North American Plate produces this mountain-building event. Compressional forces cause the crust to curve, resulting in complex folds at all scale scales and some reverse order. The largest deformation area occurs in Benton-Broken Bow Uplift, which runs from Benton, Arkansas to Broken Bow, Oklahoma. The total altitude of Ouachitas is unknown, although they may have exceeded 10,000 feet (based loosely on geological cross sections). Terrane has been severely eroded since the late Paleozoic.
Stratigraphy
Ouachitas consists of Cambrian through Pennsylvania's sedimentary rocks. The Collier Shale, located at the core of the Benton-Broken Bow Uplift, is the oldest form of the Ouachitas. The Atoka Formation, which is stored away later in Pennsylvania, has the largest acreage area of ​​any Paleozoic formation in Arkansas. The geological formations of Ouachitas are as follows (in ascending order of age).
Tourism
The Ouachita Mountains contain the Ouachita National Forest, Hot Springs National Park and Lake Ouachita, as well as a number of state parks and beautiful scenery throughout Arkansas. They also contain the Ouachita National Recreation Center, a 223 mile (359 km) hiking trail through the heart of the mountains. Walking trail from Talimena State Park in Oklahoma to Pinnacle Mountain State Park near Little Rock. It is a well maintained main line for pedestrians, backpackers, and mountain bikers (only for certain parts of the trail).
Talimena Scenic Drive begins in Mena, and crosses 54 miles (87 km) from Winding Stair and the Rich Mountains, the east-west mountains that extend to Oklahoma. Mount Kaya reaches a height of 2,681 feet (817 m) in Arkansas near the Oklahoma border. The two-lane street streets are similar in terms of routes, construction, and views to the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Appalachian Mountains.
Sites of interest
- Black Fork Mountain Wilderness
- Caney Creek Wilderness
- Cossatot River State Park-Nature Area
- Flatide Desert
- Hot Springs National Park
- Jack Creek Recreation Area
- Catherine Lake
- Hamilton Lake
- Lake Maumelle
- Lake Ouachita
- Mount Magazine State Park
- Pinnacle Mountain State Park
- Queen Wilhelmina State Park
History
The mountains are home to the tribe of Ouachita, which became their name. Later the French explorers translated the name into its current spelling. The first recorded exploration was in 1541 by Hernando de Soto. Then, in 1804, President Jefferson sent William Dunbar and Dr. George Hunter to the area after the Louisiana Purchase. Hot Springs National Park became one of the first national parks in 1832. The Battle of the Devil's Backbone occurred here on a ridge of the same name in 1863. In August 1990, the US Forest Service did not continue to clear-cut as the primary means of harvesting and regenerating short leaf forests, pine and hardwoods in Ouachita National Forest.
References
Further reading
- James B. Calvert, 2003, Ouachita System , University of Denver
External links
- Ouachita Mountains Geology, from a rockhound perspective. [dead link | date]
- Friends of the Ouachita Route (FoOT)
- Lakeouachita.org: Lake Ouachita - the largest lake in the Ouachita Mountains .
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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