Soybeans are an important crop on the Arkansas River bottom land. Orchards, vineyards, and vegetable crops are important locally. Pastures on the bottom land of small streams and throughout cleared parts of the uplands consist of a mixture of tame and native grasses and legumes. These ridges and valleys are underlain by slightly folded to level beds of sandstone and shale. The intervening valleys are broad and smooth.
Local relief is in meters in the valleys and on the flat ridgetops.
The ridges and mountains rise sharply tens of meters above adjacent valleys. Average annual precipitation - 1,125 to 1,275 mm. Maximum precipitation is in spring and in autumn. The moderate precipitation generally is adequate for crops and pasture. On the uplands, water for domestic use comes mainly from shallow wells and water for livestock from small ponds on individual farms.