Land

The major uplands of Arkansas are the Boston Mountains (an extension of the Ozark Plateau, sometimes called the Ozark Mountains) in the northwest and the Ouachita Mountains in the west-central region. The Arkansas lowlands belong to two physiographic regions: the Mississippi Alluvial Plain and the Gulf Coastal Plain. The highest elevation in Arkansas, is Magazine Mountain, standing north of the Ouachitas in the Arkansas River Valley at 2,753 ft (840 m). The state's lowest point, at 55 feet (17 meters), is on the Ouachita River in south-central Arkansas.

The largest lake of Arkansas is the artificial Lake Ouachita, covering 63 sq mi (163 sq km). Lake Chicot, in southeastern Arkansas, and oxbow of the Mississippi River, is the state's largest natural lake. Bull Shoals Lake, occupying 71 sq mi (184 sq km), is shared with Missouri. The main rivers of Arkansas are Mississippi which forms most of the eastern boundary, the Arkansas, beginning in Colorado and flowing 1,450 mi (2,334 km) through Kansas and Oklahoma and across central Arkansas to the Mississippi. The Red, White, Ouachita, and St. Francis rivers, drain into the Mississippi. Numerous springs are found in Arkansas, of which the best known are Mammoth Springs, near the Missouri border, one of the largest in the world, and Hot Springs in the Ouachitas.

Crowley's Ridge, a unique strip of hills formed by sedimentary deposits and windblown sand, is rich in fossils and has an unusual diversity of plant life.

Climate

Arkansas enjoys a temperate climate, with the southern lowlands having a warmer and more humid climate than in the mountainous regions. At Little Rock, the normal daily temperature ranges from 40°F (4°C) in January to 81°F (27°C) in July. Average yearly precipitation is approximately 45 in (114 cm) in the mountainous areas and greater in the lowlands. Little Rock received an annual average (1971–2000) of 50.9 in (129.2 cm), with an average relative humidity ranging from 84% at 7 AM to 57% at 1 PM. Snowfall in the capital averages 5.2 in (13.2 cm) a year.