page_title: Arkansas
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Arkansas / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: Bend in the Buffalo River from an overlook on the Buffalo River Trail near Steel Creek.
context_page_description: Arkansas is a state in the south central region of the United States, home to more than three million people as of 2018. Its name is from the Osage language, of Siouan derivation; it denoted their related kin, the Quapaw people. The state's diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the densely forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta.
  Arkansas is the 29th largest by area and the 33rd most populous of the 50 United States. The capital and most populous city is Little Rock, located in the central portion of the state, a hub for transportation, business, culture, and government. The northwestern corner of the state, such as the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Area and Fort Smith metropolitan area, is a population, education, and economic center. The largest city in the state's eastern part is Jonesboro. The largest city in the state's southeastern part is Pine Bluff.
  The Territory of Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the 25th state on June 15, 1836.
caption: The Ozarks: bend in the Buffalo River from an overlook on the Buffalo River Trail near Steel Creek
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