Ozark Mountains
Covering the northwestern and north central part of Arkansas, the Ozarks are known for their rugged topography. Rivers have carved deep valleys into the high, flat plateaus here. A common rock known as limestone has formed brilliant caves like those found at Blanchard Springs in  Mountain View. Rivers, such as the Buffalo, cut through the deep valleys. Lakes like Beaver and Norfork are popular recreational sites.
 The forests of the Ozarks are mostly upland hardwood. Oak and hickory trees are numerous. The first people to live in the area were American Indians who were nicknamed "bluff dwellers" because they lived under the shelter of the mountains. The settlers who arrived in the 1800s practiced subsistence lifestyles, which meant they grew their own food, hunted, and raised free-range animals, such as hogs. Many settlers to this area originally came from Tennessee and were fairly isolated by the mountains in their new home.
In the late 1800s, the railroad broke the isolation of the Ozark region. Timber was a leading industry in communities like Leslie and Shirley in Stone County. Today, major industries like Tyson and Wal-Mart have made the Ozarks their home. Emigration to the northwestern corner of the state is very high and the region is one of the most popular vacation areas in the state.
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