Arkansas
Natural
Resources
A highlight of the “Natural
State”
Humans and the Environment
State’s Greatest Natural Land
Resources
 Five
national park sites
 2.6 million acres of national forest lands
 13 major lakes
 Two mountain ranges
 9,000 miles of streams and rivers
Arkansas’ National Forests
 Three
National Forest
 Ozark (1,055,000
acres)
 St. Francis (20,946
acres)
 Ouachita (1,572,879
acres)
 Total of 2,648,825
acres
Forestry


In 1998, one-sixth of all
manufacturing jobs in
Arkansas—43,000—
were in forest product
harvesting and
manufacturing.
There were 2,500
companies in the forest
product business, and
they supported $1.2
billion in payroll, the
largest of any
manufacturing sector.
Oil in Arkansas


Oil still has a strong
economic and cultural
influence on the region. El
Dorado calls itself
“Arkansas’s Original
Boomtown.”
In 2000, the annual value
of the state’s
total mining production
(from minerals, oil, and
natural gas) topped $1
billion. Oil companies still
rank among the leading
employers in south
Arkansas.
Mining - Bauxite



Bauxite is use to make
aluminum products such
as cans.
The Arkansas bauxite
region covers about 275
square miles in the
northern part of the West
Gulf Coastal Plain and is
divided into
two mining districts.
One area is in Pulaski
County, south and east
of Little Rock, and the
other is in nearby Saline
County, northeast and
east of Benton.
Poultry Industry



A staple of the state’s
economy, the Arkansas
poultry industry first
emerged in the 1890s.
Tyson Foods, based
in Springdale, had
become one of the
largest agribusiness firms in
the United States.
Northwest Arkansas,
particularly Washington an
d Benton counties,
produces the majority of
poultry in Arkansas.
Chicken Production
 Arkansas
is the
nation’s second
leading chicken
producer.
 Arkansas produces
more than 1.2 billion
chickens and 3.4
billion eggs per year.
Turkey Production
 29
Million Turkeys are
raised each year in
Arkansas. (USAD 2005)
 The
turkeys produced
yearly in Arkansas
would be enough to
fill over 12,000
refrigerated semitrucks.
Arkansas Natural Resources
Rice production is extremely
important to Arkansas.
Arkansas Natural Resources
Other crops are farmed in
Arkansas such as soybeans
and cotton
Arkansas Natural Resources
Diamonds
 Murfreesboro,
Arkansas
 Home of the only diamond mine open to
the public in North America
Arkansas Natural Resources
Resources
 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/
Arkansas Natural Resources