LIFE ZONES. 7 



THE OUACHITA MOUNTAIN REGION. 



South of the Arkansas Valley and west of Perry and Garland 

 Counties lies a group of rugged mountain ranges — the highest in the 

 State — known as the Ouachita Mountains. These ranges have a gen- 

 eral east and west direction and are steeper and more isolated than 

 the ranges of the Ozarks. Some of the highest peaks are Magazine 

 Mountain (2,800 feet), Fourche Mountain (2,800 feet), Rich Mountain 

 (2,750 feet), Black Fork Mountain (2,650 feet), Petit Jean Mountain 

 (2,600 feet), and Poteau Mountain (2,550 feet). 



Both hardwood and pine timber grow on these mountains, the 

 former prevailing in most localities. This region forms the southern- 

 most extension of the Upper Austral Zone in the Mississippi Valley, 

 and several species of birds characteristic of that zone reach their 



southern limit here. 



LIFE ZONES. 



LOWER AUSTRAL ZONE. 



The greater part of the State is occupied by the Austroriparian 

 division of the Lower Austral Zone, which nils all the lowlands and 

 extends up on the mountain sides to an altitude of approximately 

 1,200 feet in the southern mountains and 800 to 1,000 feet in the 

 northern mountains. A broad area of this zone occupies the Arkan- 

 sas Valley, and a narrow tongue extends along the upper White River 

 Valley to or beyond the State line. 



In this zone cotton is the prevailing crop, and, except where the 

 boll weevil has become abundant, the most profitable. Rice growing 

 has in recent years been introduced on a large scale in the prairie 

 regions with great success. Corn is raised extensively and wheat and 

 oats in less quantity. Fruits have been little cultivated, but a large 

 variety may be successfully grown. 1 One of the most valuable of 

 the native trees is the pecan, whose cultivation might be profitably 

 extended. 



This zone is characterized in Arkansas by the presence of a large 

 number of southern plants, mammals, and birds, among which the 

 following are the most conspicuous: 



Plants of the Lower Austral Zone. 



Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum). Overcup oak (Quercus lyrata). 



Loblolly pine (Pinus tseda). Winged elm ( Ulmus alata). 



Palmetto (Sabal glabra). Planer tree {Planer a aquatica). 



Large cane (Arundinaria macrosperma) . Mississippi hackberry (Celtis mississip- 



Corkwood (Leitneria floridana). piensis). 



Swamp poplar (Populus heterophylla). Large - leaf magnolia (Magnolia macro- 



Pecan (Hicoria pecan). phylla). 



Water oak (Quercus nigra). Water locust (Gleditsia aquatica). 



Basket oak (Quercus michauxi). Tupelo gum (Nyssa aquatica). 



Swamp Spanish oak (Quercus pagodxfolia) . Pumpkin ash (Fraxinus profunda). 



1 See Life Zones and Crop Zones of the United States, Bull. 10, Biol. Survey, pp. 46-49, 1898. 



