Arkansas |
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| Entered the Union: June 15, 1836 (25) | Capital: Little Rock | |
| Origin of Name: French interpretation of the Algonquin Indian word "ookansa," (referring to the Quapaw Tribe who lived in Arkansas) meaning "south wind" | ||
| State Motto: Regnat populus (The people rule) | State Bird: Mockingbird | |
| State Nickname: The Natural State | State Tree: Loblolly Pine | |
| State Flower: Apple Blossom | State Insect: Honeybee | |
| State Mammal: White-tailed Deer | State Beverage: Milk | |
| State Instrument: Fiddle | State Gem: Diamond | |
| Fruit/Vegetable: Vine Ripe Pink Tomato | State Book: The Holy Bible | |
| State Mineral: Quartz Crystal | State Song: “Arkansas” | |
| National Parks: 1 • National Forests: 2 • State Parks: 52 | ||
| Famous for: America's only Diamond Mine, Hot Springs National Park | ||
| Famous Arkansans: Mike Huckabee (governor), Johnny Cash (singer), Eldridge Cleaver (social activist), William Jefferson Clinton (President), Dizzy Dean (baseball), John Grisham (author), Scott Joplin (composer), Douglas MacArthur (general), Sam Walton (founder of Wal-Mart) | ||
| Native Animals and Birds: Click on photos of the animals and birds on this page to find out more about them and to hear the sounds they make. | ||
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| Three principal Native American tribes lived in the Arkansas region: the Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw. | ||||||||||||||
| Spanish Explorer, Hernando de Soto was among the first Europeans to visit the Arkansas territory. In 1686, a Frenchman, Henri de Tonti, founded the first permanent white settlement—the Arkansas Post. In 1803 the area was acquired by the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase. | ||||||||||||||
| Hot Springs National Park, was visited by Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto in 1541. The springs, long used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes, became a Federal Reservation in 1832. More than a million gallons of water a day, with an average temperature of 143°F (62°C), flow from 47 springs. | ||||||||||||||
| Forty-seven hot springs flow from the southwestern slope of Hot Springs Mountain, at an average temperature of 143 F. | ||||||||||||||
| The first woman elected to the U.S. Senate was from Arkansas -- Hattie Caraway, elected November 1932. | ||||||||||||||
| The community of Mountain View is called the Folk Capital of America. The little town preserves the pioneer way of life and puts it on display for visitors at the Ozark Folk Center State Park from March through October. | ||||||||||||||
| Arkansas contains over 600,000 acres of lakes and 9,700 miles of streams and rivers. | ||||||||||||||
| Pivot Rock balances on a base 15 times smaller than its top. | ||||||||||||||
| Crater of Diamonds State Park allows dedicated prospectors to search for precious gems including diamonds, amethyst, garnet, jasper, agate, and quartz. | ||||||||||||||
| Sam Walton founded his Wal-Mart stores in Bentonville. | ||||||||||||||
| Near Dover, Arkansas is an overlook with a view of an Ozark Valley. Here, appear the "Dover Lights," an unexplained phenomena that appears, flickers and sways in various colors. | ||||||||||||||
| A southern version of Big Foot, called the Boggy Creek Monster, has been sighted near Fouke, Arkansas. Said to be seven feet tall and hairy all over, it kills chicken, cattle, dogs and livestock. | ||||||||||||||
| The loblolly pine tree can grow up to 100 feet tall and three feet in diameter. Its needles and cones can be up to nine inches long. | ||||||||||||||
| Mount Ida is known as the Quartz Crystal Capital of the World. | ||||||||||||||
| The entire town of Eureka Springs is an historic district. | ||||||||||||||
| The Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs is America's #1 attended outdoor drama. Presents the miracles, trials, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. | ||||||||||||||
| The World's Championship Duck Calling Contest is held annually in Stuttgart. | ||||||||||||||
| Pine Bluff is known as the world center of archery bow production. | ||||||||||||||
| The Basin Park Hotel in Eureka Springs is seven stories tall, but every floor is a “ground” floor. The hotel is built against a hillside, and each story opens onto the hill at a different height. | ||||||||||||||
| Arkansas' Ethnic Roots: American 15.9%, African American 15.7%, Irish 9.5%, German 9.3%, English 7.9%. | ||||||||||||||
| Religion in Arkansas: 86% Christian (78% Protestant, 7% Catholic, 1% Other), 14% No Religion. | ||||||||||||||
| Alma, Arkansas is the Spinach Capital of the World and commemorated this by painting its water tower to be the "world's biggest can of spinach." | ||||||||||||||
| William "Bill" Doolin was the founder of the Wild Bunch, which specialized in robbing banks, trains and stage-coaches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas in the 1890s. He was born in 1858 on a farm in Johnson County, Arkansas. Originally a member of the Dalton Gang, he formed his own gang around 1893 and the Wild Bunch became the premier terrorizers of the West until Doolin was captured in a Eureka Springs bathhouse by Deputy U.S. Marshall Bill Tilghman in January 1896. He escaped federal custody and was shot and killed by a U.S. Marshall near Lawson, Oklahoma Territory on August 25, 1896. | ||||||||||||||
At a Glance
Arkansas Quick Facts
| Entered the Union | June 15, 1836 (25) |
|---|---|
| Capital | Little Rock |
| Nickname | The Natural State |
| State Bird | Mockingbird |
| State Flower | Apple Blossom |
| State Tree | Loblolly Pine |
New for 2026
More Arkansas Facts & Photos
The Buffalo became America's first national river in 1972, protecting 135 miles of free-flowing water and towering bluffs in the Ozarks. It remains one of the few undammed rivers left in the lower 48 states.
Arkansas named Arkansaurus fridayi its official state dinosaur in 2017, after a high school student proposed the idea to legislators. The fossil foot bones, found near Lockesburg in 1972, are the only dinosaur bones ever discovered in the state.
Little Rock Central High School, where nine Black students integrated classes under federal troop escort in 1957, was designated a National Historic Site in 1998. It is the only fully operating high school in the country with that status.
Arkansas has led the nation in rice production for more than 50 years and grows nearly half of all the rice produced in the United States.
King Biscuit Time, launched on Helena radio station KFFA in 1941 by bluesmen Sonny Boy Williamson and Robert Lockwood Jr., is the longest-running daily radio broadcast in American history and the first regular show to feature live blues.
Voices of America
In Their Own Words
Mike Huckabee
"To somehow believe that the taking of an innocent, unborn human life is about privacy and not about that unborn life is ludicrous."
Governor
George Washington
"No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States."
(April 1789)
President
Woodrow Wilson
"America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scriptures."
President
William Clinton
"Part of our essential humanity is paying respect to what God gave us and what will be here a long time after we're gone."
President
George Washington Carver
"I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."
Scientist
Sam Walton
"Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish."
Founder of Walmart
Last updated: July 2026