View source for Ozarks

{{short description|Highland region in central-southern United States}}
{{Redirect|Ozark|the TV series|Ozark (TV series){{!}}''Ozark'' (TV series)|other uses|Ozark (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox mountain
|fetchwikidata=ALL
|name=Ozarks
|other_name=Ozark Highlands; Ozark Mountains; Ozark Plateaus
|country=United States
|state_type=States
|state={{hlist|[[Arkansas]]|[[Kansas]]|[[Missouri]]|[[Oklahoma]]}}
|highest=Wahzhazhe Summit (formerly known as Buffalo Lookout) 781 m (2,561 feet)
|coordinates = {{Coord|37|10|N|92|30|W|type:mountain_region:US-AR_dim:200km|display=inline,title}}
|range_coordinates = 
|geology=
|period=[[Paleozoic]] to [[Proterozoic]]
|orogeny=
|map_image=OzarkOverview.jpg
|map_size=275
}}
[[File:Ozark scenery.jpg|thumb|A rural Ozarks scene. [[Phelps County, Missouri]]]]
[[File:Knob lick view-26aug06.jpg|thumb|The Saint Francois Mountains, viewed here from [[Knob Lick, Missouri|Knob Lick Mountain]], are the exposed geologic core of the Ozarks.]]

The '''Ozarks''', also known as the '''Ozark Mountains''', '''Ozark Highlands''' or '''Ozark Plateau''', is a [[physiographic region]] in the [[U.S. state]]s of [[Missouri]], [[Arkansas]], and [[Oklahoma]], as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of [[Kansas]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ozark Plateau {{!}} GeoKansas |url=https://geokansas.ku.edu/ozark-plateau |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=geokansas.ku.edu}}</ref> The Ozarks cover a significant portion of northern Arkansas and most of the southern half of Missouri, extending from [[Interstate 40 in Arkansas|Interstate 40]] in central Arkansas to [[Interstate 70 in Missouri|Interstate 70]] in central Missouri.

There are two mountain ranges in the Ozarks: the [[Boston Mountains]] of Arkansas and Oklahoma, as well as the [[St. Francois Mountains]] of Missouri. [[Wahzhazhe Summit]] (formerly known as Buffalo Lookout), is the highest point in the Ozarks at {{convert|2,561|ft|m}}, and is located in the Boston Mountains, {{convert|3.4|mi|km}} east of [[Pettigrew, Arkansas|Pettigrew, Newton County, Arkansas]]. Geologically, the area is a broad [[dome (geology)|dome]] with the exposed core in the ancient St. Francois Mountains. The Ozarks cover nearly {{convert|47,000|mi2}}, making it the most extensive [[highland]] region between the [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachians]] and [[Rocky Mountains|Rockies]]. Together with the [[Ouachita Mountains]], the area is known as the [[U.S. Interior Highlands]].

The Salem Plateau, named after [[Salem, Missouri]], makes up the largest geologic area of the Ozarks. The second largest is the Springfield Plateau, named after [[Springfield, Missouri]], nicknamed the "Queen City of the Ozarks". On the northern Ozark border are the cities of [[St. Louis]] and [[Columbia, Missouri]]. Significant Ozark cities in Arkansas include [[Fayetteville, Arkansas|Fayetteville]], [[Bentonville, Arkansas|Bentonville]], [[Springdale, Arkansas|Springdale]], [[Eureka Springs, Arkansas|Eureka Springs]], and [[Fort Smith, Arkansas|Fort Smith]]. [[Branson, Missouri|Branson]], just north of the Arkansas–Missouri border, is a tourist destination where Ozark culture is popularized.

==Etymology==
The [[toponym]] ''Ozarks'' may derive from an [[English language|English-language]] adaptation of the [[French language|French]] abbreviation {{lang | fr | aux Arcs}} (short for {{langx |fr| aux Arcansas}}, meaning "of/at/to [[Quapaw|the Arkansas (Quapaw)]] [plural]").<ref>Okrent, Arika (August 20, 2014). [https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/58490/why-isnt-arkansas-pronounced-kansas "Why Isn't 'Arkansas' Pronounced Like 'Kansas'?"] ''[[Mental Floss]]''. Retrieved July 11, 2021.</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-link= George R. Stewart |last= Stewart |first= George R. |year= 1967 |title= Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States |page= 137 |publisher= Houghton Mifflin |location= Boston }}</ref> In the decades prior to the [[French and Indian War]] of 1754 to 1763, {{lang | fr | aux Arkansas}} referred to [[Kingdom of France|France]]'s [[trading post]] at [[Arkansas Post]], located in the wooded [[Arkansas Delta]] lowland area above the confluence of the [[Arkansas River]] with the [[Mississippi River]].<ref name="Randolph primitive society">{{cite book |last= Randolph |first= Vance |title= The Ozarks: An American Survival of Primitive Society |location= New York |publisher= The Vanguard Press |page= 14 |year= 1931 }}</ref><ref name="Morris 1">{{cite book |last= Arnold |first= Morris S. |title= Unequal Laws Unto a Savage Race: European Legal Traditions in Arkansas, 1686-1836 |publisher= University of Arkansas Press |location= Fayetteville |year= 1985 |isbn= 0-938626-76-0 }}</ref><ref name="Morris 2">{{cite book |last= Arnold |first= Morris S. |title= Colonial Arkansas 1686-1804: A Social and Cultural History |publisher= University of Arkansas Press |location= Fayetteville |year=1991 |isbn=1-55728-222-6 }}</ref>

Another possible etymological origin might be the French phrase {{lang | fr | aux arcs}}, meaning "[land] of the arches",<ref name="EJW Miller">{{cite journal |first= E. Joan Wilson |last= Miller |title= The naming of the land in the Arkansas Ozarks: A study in culture processes |doi= 10.1111/j.1467-8306.1969.tb00668.x |journal= Annals of the Association of American Geographers |volume= 59 |issue= 2 |pages= 240–251 |year= 1969 }}</ref> in reference to the dozens of [[natural arch|natural bridges]] formed by erosion and collapsed caves in the Ozark region. These include Clifty Hollow Natural Bridge (actually a series of arches) in Missouri,<ref name="Clifty Hollow Natural Bridge">Watkins, Conor. [http://www.theozarkschronicle.com/archives/sciencefeb07.htm "Ozarks geology: Clifty Creek Natural Area includes natural bridge"] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150204151758/http://www.theozarkschronicle.com/archives/sciencefeb07.htm |date=February 4, 2015 }}, ''The Ozarks Chronicle'', Rolla, Mo.</ref> and Alum Cove in the [[Ozark–St. Francis National Forest]].

By the early 20th century, the term "Ozarks" had entered common parlance.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Morrow |first= Lynn |year= 1996 |title= Ozark/Ozarks: Establishing a Regional Term |journal= White River Valley Historical Quarterly |volume= 36 |issue= 2 |url= http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/wrv/V36/N2/f96c.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080928121700/http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/wrv/V36/N2/f96c.htm |url-status= dead |archive-date= September 28, 2008 |access-date= September 8, 2006}}</ref><ref name="Mo. Place Names">McMillen, Margot Ford. ''A to Z Missouri: The Dictionary of Missouri Place Names'', Columbia, Missouri: Pebble Publishing, 1996. {{ISBN|0-9646625-4-X}}
</ref>{{request quotation|date=September 2023}}

==Physiographic subregions==
[[File:OzarkRelief.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Elevation map of the Ozarks]]

The Ozarks consist of five physiographic subregions: the [[Boston Mountains]] of north Arkansas and [[Cookson Hills]] of east Oklahoma; the [[Springfield Plateau]] of southwest Missouri, northeast Oklahoma, and northwest Arkansas and including [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]], [[Joplin, Missouri|Joplin]] and [[Monett, Missouri|Monett]]/[[Aurora, Missouri|Aurora]] in Missouri, [[Tahlequah, Oklahoma|Tahlequah]] in Oklahoma, and [[Fayetteville, Arkansas|Fayetteville]] and [[Harrison, Arkansas|Harrison]] in Arkansas; the White River Hills along the White River, including [[Branson, Missouri|Branson]] and [[Mountain Home, Arkansas|Mountain Home]] to [[Batesville, Arkansas|Batesville]]; the Salem Plateau or Central Plateau, which includes a broad band across south central Missouri and north central Arkansas including the [[Lebanon, Missouri|Lebanon]], [[Salem, Missouri|Salem]] and [[West Plains, Missouri|West Plains]] areas; the [[Courtois Hills]] of southeastern Missouri; the Osage-Gasconade Hills around the [[Lake of the Ozarks]]; the [[Saint Francois Mountains]]; and the Missouri River and Mississippi River border areas along the eastern and northeastern flanks.

[[Karst]] features such as [[spring (hydrology)|spring]]s,<ref>Jerry D. Vineyard and Gerald L. Feder. [http://www.dnr.mo.gov/pubs/WR29.pdf ''Springs of Missouri'']. Missouri Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Geological Survey. 1974 (revised 1982).</ref> [[losing stream]]s, [[sinkhole]]s and [[cave]]s are common in the [[limestone]]s of the Springfield Plateau and abundant in the [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]] bedrock of the Salem Plateau and Boston Mountains.<ref name="MDNR Karst Factsheet">[http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wrc/springsandcaves.htm ''Karst, Springs and Caves in Missouri''], Missouri Department of Natural Resources</ref> Missouri is known as "The Cave State" with over 7,300 recorded caves, second in number only to Tennessee. The majority of these caves are found in the Ozark counties.<ref name="MDNR Karst Factsheet"/><ref name="MSS">{{cite web|url=https://dnr.mo.gov/geology/wrc/caves.htm|title=Caves in Missouri|date=November 2019}}</ref> The Ozark Plateaus aquifer system affects groundwater movement in all areas except the igneous core of the St. Francois Mountains.<ref name="OzarksWatch">Rafferty, Milton. [http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/ozarkswatch/ow104a.htm "The Ozarks as a Region: A Geographer's Description"], ''OzarksWatch'', Vol. I, No. 4, Spring 1988.</ref><ref name="USGS Ozark Aquifer Map">[http://capp.water.usgs.gov/aquiferBasics/ext_ozarkas.html ''Ozark Aquifer Map''], United States Geological Survey.</ref><ref name="Ozarks Stream Geomorphology Project">[http://www.cerc.usgs.gov/rss/osgp/projecttour.htm ''Project Tour - A quick visit to the Ozarks Stream Geomorphology Project''], United States Geological Survey.</ref><ref name="Ground Water Atlas of the United States">{{cite web |title=HA 730-D Ozark Plateaus aquifer system |work=usgs.gov |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/ha/ha730/ch_d/D-text5.html |access-date=May 26, 2015}}</ref> Geographic features include limestone and dolomite [[glade (geography)|glades]], which are rocky, desert-like areas on hilltops. Kept open by periodic fires that limit growth of [[Graminoid|grasses]] and [[forb]]s in shallow soil, glades are home to collared lizards, tarantulas, scorpions, cacti and other species more typical of the [[Desert Southwest]].<ref name="Chase Lab">[http://www.biology.wustl.edu/faculty/chase/personal_pages/jon/ozark_glades_jon.htm "Spatial Interaction Webs in Ozark Glades"]. John Chase, Assistant Professor. Washington University in St. Louis. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720120721/http://www.biology.wustl.edu/faculty/chase/personal_pages/jon/ozark_glades_jon.htm |date=July 20, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Ozark glades">{{Cite journal |jstor = 3672662|title = Rock Outcrop Plant Communities (Glades) in the Ozarks: A Synthesis|journal = The Southwestern Naturalist|volume = 47|issue = 4|pages = 585–597|last1 = Ware|first1 = Stewart|year = 2002|doi = 10.2307/3672662}}</ref>

The Boston Mountains contain the highest elevations of the Ozarks, with peaks over {{convert|2500|ft}}, and form some of the greatest relief of any formation between the Appalachians and Rocky Mountains. The [[Ouachita Mountains]] to the south rise a few hundred feet higher, but are not geographically associated with the Ozarks. The Boston Mountains portion of the Ozarks extends north of the Arkansas River Valley {{convert|20|to|35|mi|km}}, is approximately {{convert|200|mi|km}} long,<ref name="bos">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Guccione |first=Margaret J. |date=January 7, 2008 |title=Boston Mountains |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]] |publisher=[[Butler Center for Arkansas Studies]] at the [[Central Arkansas Library System]] |url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2389 |access-date=June 30, 2013}}</ref> and is bordered by the Springfield and Salem Plateau to the north of the [[White River (Arkansas)|White River]]. Summits can reach elevations of just over {{convert|2560|ft}}, with valleys {{convert|500|to|1550|ft}} deep. Turner Ward Knob is the highest named peak. Found in western [[Newton County, Arkansas]], its elevation is {{convert|2463|ft}}. Nearby, five unnamed peaks have elevations at or slightly above {{convert|2560|ft}}. Drainage is primarily to the White River, with the exception of the [[Illinois River (Arkansas)|Illinois River]], although there also is considerable drainage from the south slopes of the Boston Mountains to the Arkansas River. Major streams of this type include Lee Creek, Frog Bayou, Mulberry River, Spadra Creek, Big Piney Creek, Little Piney Creek, Illinois Bayou, Point Remove Creek, and Cadron Creek. Many Ozark waterways have their headwaters in the uplands of the Boston formation, including the [[Buffalo National River|Buffalo]], [[Kings River (Arkansas)|Kings]], [[Mulberry River (Arkansas)|Mulberry]], [[Little Red River (Arkansas)|Little Red]] and White rivers.<ref name="oza">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Foti |first=Thomas |date=August 26, 2011 |title=Ozark Mountains |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture |publisher=Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System |url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryid=440 |access-date=June 30, 2013}}</ref>

Topography is mostly gently rolling in the Springfield and Salem plateaus, whereas the [[Saint Francois Mountains]] are more rugged. Although the Springfield formation's surface is primarily [[Mississippian (geology)|Mississippian]] limestone and [[chert]], the Salem Plateau is made of older [[Ordovician]] dolomites, limestones, and sandstones.<ref name="plat">{{cite web |title=Ozark Plateaus |publisher=[[Arkansas Geological Survey]] |url=http://www.geology.ar.gov/education/ozark_plateaus.htm |access-date=June 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511070535/http://www.geology.ar.gov/education/ozark_plateaus.htm |archive-date=May 11, 2013  }}</ref> Both are rife with karst topography and form long, flat plains. The formations are separated by steep escarpments that dramatically interrupt the rolling hills. Although much of the Springfield Plateau has been [[Denudation|denuded]] of the surface layers of the Boston Mountains, large remnants of these younger layers are present throughout the southern end of the formation, possibly suggesting a [[peneplain]] process.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Purdue |first=A. H. |date=Nov–Dec 1901 |title=Physiography of the Boston Mountains, Arkansas |journal=The Journal of Geology |doi=10.1086/620967 |bibcode=1901JG......9..694P |volume=9 |number=8 |page=697 |s2cid=129914010 }}</ref> The Springfield Plateau drains through wide, mature streams ultimately feeding the White River.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Purdue |first=A. H. |date=Nov–Dec 1901 |title=Physiography of the Boston Mountains, Arkansas |journal=The Journal of Geology |doi=10.1086/620967 |bibcode=1901JG......9..694P |volume=9 |number=8 |pages=698–700|s2cid=129914010 }}</ref>

==Geology==
The [[St. Francois Mountains]] in the northeastern Ozarks are the eroded remnants of an ancient range which form the geological core of the highland dome. The [[igneous]] and [[volcanic]] rocks of the St. Francois Mountains are the exposed remains of a [[Proterozoic]] mountain range hundreds of millions of years old. The remaining hills are the exposed portion of an extensive [[terrane]] (the [[Spavinaw terrane]] in part) of [[Granite|granitic]] and [[Rhyolite|rhyolitic]] rocks dating from 1485 to 1350 [[mya (unit)|mya]] that stretches from [[Ohio]] to western Oklahoma.<ref name=USGS>Denison, Rodger E., et al., ''Geology and Geochemistry of the Precambrian Rocks in the Central Interior Region of the United States'', Geological Survey Professional Paper 1241-C, 1984</ref> The core of the range existed as an island in the [[Paleozoic]] seas. [[Reef]] complexes occur in the sedimentary layers surrounding this ancient island. These flanking reefs were points of concentration for later [[ore]]-bearing fluids which formed the rich [[lead]]-[[zinc]] ores that have been and continue to be mined in the area. The igneous and volcanic rocks extend at depth under the relatively thin veneer of Paleozoic [[sedimentary]] rocks and form the basal crust of the entire region.<ref name=Unklesbay>A. G. Unklesbay, Jerry D. Vineyard. ''Missouri Geology — Three Billion Years of Volcanoes, Seas, Sediments, and Erosion'', University of Missouri Press, 1992. {{ISBN|0-8262-0836-3}}</ref>

[[File:Taum Sauk precambrian-cambrian unconformity.jpg|thumb|right|Grey [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]] laid down c. 500 [[mya (unit)|mya]] nonconformally overlies reddish [[rhyolite]] that formed close to 1500 mya in the St. Francois Mountains.]]
A major [[unconformity]] in the region attests that the Ozarks were above sea level for several hundred million years from the time of the volcanism in the Precambrian until the mid-[[Cambrian]] with an erosionally produced relief of up to {{convert|1500|ft}}.<ref name=Unklesbay/> The seas encroached during the late Cambrian producing the [[Lamotte Sandstone]], {{convert|200|to|300|ft|m}} thick, followed by [[carbonate rock|carbonate]] sedimentation. [[Coral reef]]s formed around the granite and rhyolite islands in this Cambrian sea. This carbonate formation, the [[Bonneterre Formation|Bonneterre]], now mostly [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]], is exposed around the St. Francis Mountains, but extends in the subsurface throughout the Ozarks and reaches a thickness of {{convert|400|to|1500|ft|m}}.<ref name=Unklesbay/> The Bonneterre is overlain by {{convert|500|to|600|ft|m}} of dolomite, often sandy, silty or cherty, forming the [[Elvins Group]] and the [[Potosi Dolomite|Potosi]] and [[Eminence Formation|Eminence]] formations. Withdrawal of the seas resulted in another unconformity during the latest Cambrian and early [[Ordovician]] periods. [[Hydrothermal]] mineralizing fluids formed the rich lead ore deposits of the [[Lead Belt]] during this time.<ref name=Unklesbay/>
[[File:Roubidoux sandstone bluff.JPG|thumb|Outcrop of Roubidoux sandstone along a bluff in [[Douglas County, Missouri]]]]
Sedimentation resumed in the Ordovician with the deposition of the Gunter sandstone, the [[Gasconade Formation|Gasconade]] dolomite and the prominent [[Roubidoux Formation|Roubidoux]] sandstone and dolomite. The sandstone of the Roubidoux forms prominent bluffs along the streams eroding into the southern part of the Salem Plateau. The Roubidoux and Gunter sandstones serve as significant [[aquifer]]s when present in the subsurface. The source of the sands is considered to be the emerging [[Wisconsin Dome]] to the northeast.<ref name=Unklesbay/> The Ozark region remained as a subsiding shallow carbonate shelf environment with a significant thickness of cherty dolomites such as the [[Jefferson City Formation|Jefferson City]], [[Cotter Formation|Cotter]] and [[Powell Formation|Powell]] formations.<ref name=Unklesbay/>

Portions of the Ozark Plateau, the Springfield Plateau of southwest Missouri and northern Arkansas, are underlain by [[Mississippian (geology)|Mississippian]] cherty limestones locally referred to as "Boone chert", consisting of limestone and chert layers. These are eroded and form steep hills, valleys and bluffs.

The Boston Mountains are a high and deeply dissected plateau. The rocks of the region are essentially little disturbed, flat-lying sedimentary layers of Paleozoic age. The highest ridges and peaks are capped by Pennsylvanian sandstone such as the basal Atoka and the "Middle Bloyd".<ref>{{cite web |title=Ozark Plateaus |url=http://www.geology.ar.gov/education/ozark_plateaus.htm |access-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522114139/http://www.geology.ar.gov/education/ozark_plateaus.htm |archive-date=May 22, 2016  }}</ref> The deeply eroded valleys are cut into Mississippian limestone and below that layer Ordovician dolomite.

During the [[Pennsylvanian (geology)|Pennsylvanian]] period, the Ozark Plateau was uplifted as a result of the [[Ouachita orogeny]]. During the late Paleozoic, the deep ocean basin that existed in central and southern Arkansas was lifted when South America collided with North America, creating the folded Ouachita Mountains and uplifting the Ozark plateau to the north.

==Ecology and conservation==
Formal conservation in the region began when the [[Ozark–St. Francis National Forest|Ozark National Forest]] was created by proclamation of President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] in 1908 to preserve {{convert|917944|acre|sqkm}} across five Arkansas counties. Another {{convert|608537|acre|sqkm}} were added the following year. The initial forest included area as far south as [[Mount Magazine]] and as far east as [[Sylamore, Arkansas|Sylamore]].<ref name="ftt">{{cite book |author=United States Forest Service |year=1981 |title=For the Trees: An Illustrated History of the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests 1908–1978 |url=http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Publications/region/8/ozark/ |access-date=July 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402115708/http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Publications/region/8/ozark/ |archive-date=April 2, 2015   }}</ref>

In 1939, Congress established [[Mark Twain National Forest]] at nine sites in Missouri. Wildlife management areas were founded in the 1920s and '30s to restore populations to viable numbers. In the 1930s and 1940s [[Aldo Leopold]], [[Arthur Carhart]] and [[Bob Marshall (wilderness activist)|Bob Marshall]] developed a "wilderness" policy for the Forest Service. Their efforts bore fruit with [[The Wilderness Act of 1964]] which designated wilderness areas "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by men, where man himself is a visitor and does not remain", though this included [[secondary forest|second growth]] public forests like the Mark Twain National Forest.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Farmer |first1=Charles J. |title=A Personal Guide to Missouri Wilderness |date=1999 |publisher=University of Missouri Press |pages=9–11}}</ref>

Land was also added to Ozark National Forest during this period, with over {{convert|544000|acre|sqkm}} in total additions. Some land was reclaimed by the government through the [[Resettlement Administration]] during the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]].<ref name="ftt" /> In 1976, Congress established the [[Hercules Glades Wilderness]], the first of 13 designated wilderness areas in the Ozarks. In 1986, Congress established the [[Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge]] in northeast Oklahoma. Protected areas ensure the recovery of endangered and threatened species of animals and plants, including the [[red wolf]], [[Ozark big-eared bat]], [[Indiana bat]], [[eastern small-footed bat]], southeastern bat, southeastern [[big-eared bat]]; [[longnose darter]], [[Ozark cavefish]], Ozark cave [[crayfish]], Bowman's cave [[amphipod]], Ozark cave amphipod, bat cave [[isopod]]; and Ozark [[Castanea pumila|chinquapin]]. It is a habitat of migratory birds and contains geological, archeological, historical, and paleontological resources.

Commercial farms and processing operations are known to raise levels of chemical and biological contaminants in Ozark streams, threatening water supplies, recreational use and endangered native species.<ref name="Chemical and biological contaminants 1">{{cite web |title=Endangered Species Guidesheet |publisher=Missouri Department of Conservation |url=http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/endangered/endanger/cavefish/  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527133625/http://www.mdc.mo.gov/nathis/endangered/endanger/cavefish/ |archive-date=May 27, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Chemical and biological contaminants 2">{{cite web |title=Research Project: Poultry Manure Management To Reduce Non-Point Source Phosphorus Pollution |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service |url=http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/projects/projects.htm?ACCN_NO=403458&showpubs=true}}</ref><ref name="Chemical and biological contaminants 3">{{cite journal |last1=Haggard |first1=B. E. |last2=Moore |first2=P. A. Jr |last3=Chaubey |first3=I. |last4=Stanley |first4=E. H. |date=September 2003 |title=Nitrogen and Phosphorus Concentrations and Export from an Ozark Plateau Catchment in the United States |journal=Biosystems Engineering |doi=10.1016/S1537-5110(03)00100-4 |volume=86 |issue=1 |pages=75–85 }}</ref><ref name="Mo Water Quality Report 2006">{{cite web |date=April 1, 2007 |title=Missouri Water Quality Report: 2006 |publisher=Missouri Department of Natural Resources: Water Protection Program |url=https://dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/docs/2006-305b.pdf |access-date=November 13, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Joplin Globe 16 July 2009">{{cite web |last=Spellman |first=Derek |date=July 16, 2009 |title=Tribe urges swimmers to stay clear of Lost Creek, Spring River for now |work=The Joplin Globe |url=http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_story_197230731.html  |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130111021950/http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_story_197230731.html |archive-date=January 11, 2013  }}</ref>

==Lakes and streams==
[[Image:Big Spring Missouri 1-02Aug08.jpg|thumb|[[Big Spring (Missouri)|Big Spring]], the largest freshwater spring in the Ozarks, discharges {{convert|304|e6USgal|m3}} of water per day into the [[Current River (Ozarks)|Current River]].]]
[[File:Current River MO 2009-06-15 n65 below Welch Spring crop2.jpg|thumb|upright|Canoers on the Current River in the [[Ozark National Scenic Riverways]]]]
[[Image:Morning on the Buffalo River.jpg|thumb|Roark Bluff on the [[Buffalo National River]]]]
[[File:Ha Ha Tonka Spring on Lake of the Ozarks.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|View of the Ozarks from [[Ha Ha Tonka State Park]] on [[Lake of the Ozarks]], [[Camden County, Missouri]]]]
Many of the rivers and streams in the Ozarks have been dammed. Most of the dams in the region were initially built for the dual purpose of [[flood control]] and [[hydropower]] generation but have also become major economic drivers through recreational use in places such as Branson, Missouri, and Mountain Home, Arkansas.

The [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] among others, operates multiple dams in the Ozarks region. Some of the largest lakes created by these dams are on the [[White River (Arkansas–Missouri)|White River]]. Beginning in 1911 with the construction of Powersite Dam on the White River near Branson, Missouri and the impoundment of [[Lake Taneycomo]] the Ozarks rivers have been harnessed for electrical power, recreation, and flood control. After the President Franklin D, Roosevelt signed the Flood Control Act of 1938, six large flood control dams were constructed on the White River and its tributaries.

* Beaver Dam on the White River – Beaver Lake
* Table Rock Dam on the White River – Table Rock Lake
* Bull Shoals Dam on the White River – Bull Shoals Lake
* Norfork Dam on the North Fork River – Norfolk Lake
* Greers Ferry Lake on the Little Red River – Greers Ferry Lake
* Clearwater Dam on the Black River – Clearwater Lake

Multiple smaller lakes have been created by dams in the White River basin from 1911 through 1960. These smaller lakes include Lake Sequoyah,<ref name="Lake Sequoyah">Boss, Stephen K., Heil-Chapdelaine, Vanessa M. [http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2005AM/finalprogram/abstract_95688.htm "Mapping Landscape Change: An Historic and Bathymetric Study of Lake Sequoyah, Washington County, Arkansas"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105000021/https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2005AM/finalprogram/abstract_95688.htm |date=November 5, 2014 }}</ref> a small recreational fishing lake east of [[Fayetteville, Arkansas]], formed in 1961; Sequoyah is the uppermost impoundment on the White River. Below Sequoyah (northeast of Fayetteville) is [[Beaver Lake (Arkansas)|Beaver Lake]], formed in 1960. The White River continues northeasterly into [[Table Rock Lake]] (1958) in Missouri, which feeds directly into Lake Taneycomo, where the river zigzags southeasterly into Arkansas forming [[Bull Shoals Lake]] along the Arkansas-Missouri line. Completed in 1952, Bull Shoals is the furthest downstream lake on the White River proper. [[Norfork Dam|Norfork Lake]] was formed by damming the [[North Fork River (Missouri–Arkansas)|North Fork River]], a tributary of the White River, in 1941.

Additional large lakes in the Ozarks region include [[Lake of the Ozarks]], [[Pomme de Terre Lake]], and [[Truman Lake]] in the northern Ozarks. These three lakes were formed by impounding the [[Osage River]] and its tributary the [[Pomme de Terre River (Missouri)|Pomme de Terre River]] in 1931, 1961 and 1979 respectively.

[[Grand Lake o' the Cherokees|Grand Lake o' the Cherokee]] in northeast Oklahoma, on the western portion of the Ozark Plateau, was created in 1940 with the damming of the Grand River. [[Stockton Lake]] was formed in 1969 by damming the [[Sac River]] near the city of [[Stockton, Missouri]], and supplements the water supply of [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]] in nearby [[Greene County, Missouri|Greene County]].

The creation of the lakes significantly altered the Ozark landscape and affected traditional Ozark culture through displacement.<ref name="Meramec Basin Project">Watkins, Conor. [http://www.rollanet.org/~conorw/cwome/article69&70combined.htm "The Meramec Basin Project: A Look Back 25 Years Later"]. ''Ozark Mountain Experience''. Article 69 & 70 Combined. 2006.</ref><ref name="Baxter Co">[http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=826 "Mountain Home (Baxter County)": ''The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture''].</ref><ref name="Revolution in the Heartland">Campbell, Rex R. Campbell, Mary. Hughes, Colleen. [http://web.missouri.edu/~campbellr/Book/heartland.pdf "A Revolution in the Heartland: Changes in Rural Culture, Family and Communities, 1900–2000"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230304/http://web.missouri.edu/~campbellr/Book/heartland.pdf |date=March 3, 2016 }}. University of Missouri: Department of Rural Sociology. Columbia, Missouri. 2004.</ref><ref name="SW Mo Overall Ec Dev" /> The streams provided water and power to communities, farms and mills concentrated in the valleys prior to impoundment.<ref name="Culture Revealed by Traditional Materials">E. Joan Wilson Miller. [https://archive.today/20130105095148/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119711849/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 Abstract] "The Ozark Culture Region as Revealed by Traditional Materials". ''Annals of the Association of American Geographers'', Volume 58 Issue 1, Pages 51-77. January 3, 1967.</ref> Many cemeteries, farm roads, river fords and railways were lost when the lakes came, disrupting rural culture, travel and commerce. [[Baxter County, Arkansas]], alone saw nearly 400 people displaced to make way for the reservoir created by [[Norfork Dam]]. The town of [[Forsyth, Missouri]], was relocated in its entirety to a spot {{convert|2|mi|0}} from its previous location. Prior to damming, rivers and streams in the White and Osage River basins were of similar character to the current conditions of the [[Buffalo National River|Buffalo]], [[Elk River (Oklahoma)|Elk]], [[Niangua River|Niangua]], [[Gasconade River|Gasconade]], [[Big Piney River|Big Piney]], [[Current River (Ozarks)|Current]], [[Jacks Fork River|Jacks Fork]], [[Eleven Point River|Eleven Point]] and [[Meramec River|Meramec]] rivers.<ref name="Meramec Basin Project" />

Because of the success of the Army Corps efforts to dam the large rivers in the Ozarks, the Ozarks Society began protests to keep the other rivers in the Ozarks free flowing. The [[Buffalo National River]] was created by an Act of Congress in 1972 as the nation's first [[List of areas in the United States National Park System#National rivers and national wild and scenic rivers|National River]], administered by the [[National Park Service]]. The designation came after over a decade of battling a proposed Army Corps dam in the media, legislature, and courts to keep the Buffalo River free flowing. The Ozark Society, the main force behind the dam protest, still leads the fight to keep the Buffalo River pristine and protected. Today, the Buffalo River sees approximately 800,000 visitors camping, canoeing, floating, hiking, and tubing annually.<ref name="buf">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Suzie |first=Rogers |date=April 14, 2010 |title=Buffalo National River |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture |publisher=Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System |url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=7 |access-date=June 30, 2013}}</ref> In Missouri, the [[Ozark National Scenic Riverways]]<ref>{{cite web |date=August 31, 2012 |title=Ozark National Scenic Riverways |publisher=Nps.gov |url=http://www.nps.gov/ozar |access-date=January 6, 2013}}</ref> was established in 1964 along the [[Current River (Ozarks)|Current]] and [[Jacks Fork]] rivers as the first US national park based on a river system. The [[Eleven Point River]] is included in the [[National Wild and Scenic Rivers System]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Eleven Point River |work=National Wild & Scenic Rivers |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |url=http://www.rivers.gov/wsr-eleven-point.html |access-date=October 8, 2011  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930142247/http://www.rivers.gov/wsr-eleven-point.html |archive-date=September 30, 2011}}</ref> established in 1968. These parks and rivers are a major economic driver for some of the least populated counties in Arkansas and Missouri, attracting up to 1.5 million tourists annually.

Many other waterways and streams have their headwaters in the Boston Mountains portion of the Ozarks such as the [[Mulberry River (Arkansas)|Mulberry River]], the White River, War Eagle Creek, Little Mulberry Creek, Lee Creek, Big Piney Creek, and the Little Red River. To the south, the Arkansas River valley separates the Boston Mountains from the Ouachita Mountains.<ref>{{cite web |title=Arkansas Lake Map, River Map and Water Resources |work=geology.com |url=http://geology.com/lakes-rivers-water/arkansas.shtml |access-date=May 26, 2015}}</ref>

Missouri Ozark rivers include the [[Gasconade River|Gasconade]], [[Big Piney River|Big Piney]], and [[Niangua River|Niangua]] rivers in the north central region. The [[Meramec River]] and its tributaries [[Huzzah Creek (Meramec River tributary)|Huzzah Creek]] and [[Courtois Creek]] are found in the northeastern Ozarks. The [[Black River (Arkansas–Missouri)|Black]] and [[St. Francis River|St. Francis]] rivers mark the eastern crescent of the Ozarks. The [[James River (Missouri)|James]], [[Spring River (Arkansas)|Spring]] and [[North Fork River (Missouri–Arkansas)|North Fork]] rivers are in south-central Missouri. Forming the west central border of the Ozarks from Missouri through Kansas and into Oklahoma are the [[Spring River (Missouri)|Spring River]] and its tributary, Center Creek. Grand Falls, Missouri's largest natural waterfall, a [[chert]] outcropping, includes bluffs and [[glade (geography)|glades]] on Shoal Creek south of [[Joplin, Missouri|Joplin]]. All these river systems see heavy recreational use in season, including the [[Elk River (Oklahoma)|Elk River]] in southwestern Missouri and its tributary [[Big Sugar Creek]].

Ozark rivers and streams are typically clear water, with [[baseflow]]s sustained by many [[seep (hydrology)|seeps]] and [[spring (hydrology)|springs]], and flow through forests along [[limestone]] and [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]] bluffs. Gravel bars are common along shallow banks, while deep holes are found along bluffs.<ref name="Ozarks Hydraulic Modeling">MS Panfil, RB Jacobson. [http://www.cerc.usgs.gov/rss/rfmodel/ "Hydraulic Modeling of In-channel Habitats in the Ozark Highlands of Missouri: Assessment of Physical Habitat Sensitivity to Environmental Change"]. USGS-Biological Resources Division.</ref> Except during periods of heavy rain or snow melt — when water levels rise quite rapidly — their level of difficulty is suitable for most canoeing and tubing.

Fish hatcheries are common due to the abundance of springs and waterways.<ref name="Revolution in the Heartland"/> The [[Neosho National Fish Hatchery]] was built in 1888; it was the first federal hatchery. The [[Arkansas Game and Fish Commission]], [[Missouri Department of Conservation]] and [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] operate numerous warm and cold water hatcheries and trout parks;<ref name="MDC Hatcheries">[http://mdc.mo.gov/areas/hatchery/] Missouri Fish Hatcheries and Trout Parks {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527084554/http://mdc.mo.gov/areas/hatchery/|date=May 27, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |year=2013 |title=Fish Hatcheries in Arkansas |publisher=[[Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism]] |url=http://www.arkansas.com/outdoors/fishing/resources/fish-hatcheries.aspx |access-date=June 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206212805/http://www.arkansas.com/outdoors/fishing/resources/fish-hatcheries.aspx |archive-date=December 6, 2013  }}</ref> private hatcheries such as at [[Rockbridge, Missouri|Rockbridge]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Rockbridge |publisher=Watersheds.org |url=http://www.watersheds.org/outdoors/recreation.htm |access-date=January 6, 2013}}</ref> are found throughout the region.

==Regional economy==

===Traditional economic activity===
The Ozarks contain ore deposits of [[lead]], [[zinc]], [[iron]] and [[barite]]. Many of these deposits have been depleted by historic mining activities, but much remains and is currently being mined in the [[Southeastern Missouri Lead District|Lead Belt]] of southeastern Missouri. Historically, the lead belt around the Saint Francois Mountains and the [[Tri-State district]] lead-zinc mining area around [[Joplin, Missouri]], have been important sources of metals. Mining practices common in the early 20th century left significant abandoned underground mine problems and [[heavy metals|heavy metal]] contamination in topsoil and groundwater in the Tri-State district.<ref name="Joplin district">Lasmanis, Raymond. [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-53288731.html Tri-State and Viburnum Trend Districts], ''Rocks & Minerals'', November 1, 1997. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612081804/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-53288731.html |date=June 12, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="GeoKansas">[http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Extension/ozark/mining.html "GeoKansas: Lead and Zinc Mining"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706174103/http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Extension/ozark/mining.html |date=July 6, 2008 }}, [[Kansas Geological Survey]]. Updated May 5, 2005.</ref>

Much of the area supports [[beef]] [[cattle]] ranching, and [[dairy]] farming is common across the area. Dairy farms are usually [[cooperative]] affairs, with small farms selling to a corporate wholesaler, who packages product under a common brand for retail sales. [[Petroleum]] exploration and extraction also takes place in the Oklahoma portion of the Ozarks, as well as in the east half of the Boston Mountains in Arkansas. [[Logging]] of both [[softwood]] and [[hardwood]] timber species on both private land and in the [[United States National Forest|National Forest]]s has long been an important economic activity.

The majority of the Ozarks is forested. [[Oak–hickory forest|Oak-hickory]] is the predominant type; [[Juniperus virginiana|eastern junipers]] are common, with stands of [[List of Pinus species|pine]] often seen in the southern range. Less than a quarter of the region has been cleared for pasture and cropland.<ref name="Level III Ecoregions">[http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/cropmap/ecoreg/descript.html#39 ''Primary Distinguishing Characteristics of Level III Ecoregions of the Continental United States''], U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Revised April 2000.</ref> Forests that were heavily logged during the early-to-mid-20th century have recovered; much of the remaining timber in the Ozarks is [[secondary forest|second-growth forest]]. However, deforestation of [[Old-growth forest|frontier forest]] contributed through [[erosion]] to increased gravel bars along Ozark waterways in logged areas; stream channels have become wider and shallower, and deepwater fish habitat has been lost.<ref name="Ozarks Stream Geomorphology Project"/>
[[File:Shelter on White Rock Mountain.jpg|right|thumb|CCC lookout on White Rock Mountain, [[Franklin County, Arkansas]]]]

The numerous rivers and streams of the region saw hundreds of water-powered timber and grist mills.<ref name="Missouri Mills">[http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~gtusa/usa/mo/mills.htm "Index to the old mills of Missouri"]. Hosted by rootsweb, this incomplete list includes almost 250 old mills in Missouri alone.</ref><ref name="Barry Co Mills">[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~haddockfamily/oldmills.htm Barry County, MO Mills] (Rootsweb)</ref> Mills were important centers of culture and commerce; dispersed widely throughout the region, mills served local needs, often thriving within a few miles of another facility. Few Ozark mills relied on inefficient [[water wheel]]s for power; most utilized a [[dam]], [[Sluice|millrace]] and [[water turbine]].<ref name="Water Mills">Suggs, George E., Jr. ''Water Mills of the Missouri Ozarks''. [[University of Oklahoma Press]]: [[Norman, Oklahoma]]. 1990</ref>

During the [[New Deal]], the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] employed hundreds in the construction of nearly 400 fire lookouts throughout the Ozarks at 121 known sites in Arkansas<ref>{{cite web |title=Arkansas |publisher=Firelookout.org |url=http://www.firelookout.org/towers/ar/ar.htm |access-date=January 6, 2013  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120220815/http://www.firelookout.org/towers/ar/ar.htm |archive-date=November 20, 2012}}</ref> and 257 in Missouri.<ref>{{cite web |title=Missouri |publisher=Firelookout.org |url=http://www.firelookout.org/towers/mo/mo.htm |access-date=January 6, 2013  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120220746/http://www.firelookout.org/towers/mo/mo.htm |archive-date=November 20, 2012}}</ref> Of those lookouts, about half remain, and many of them are in use by the [[United States Forest Service|U.S. Forest Service]]. A 2007 report by the [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] deemed these fire lookouts and related structures as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.<ref name="National Trust">{{cite web|url=https://savingplaces.org/11most-past-listings#.WOf6z4jytPY|title=America's Most Endangered Historic Places Listings by Year - National Trust for Historic Preservation}}</ref>

In the 1960s, federal activity promoted modernization, especially through better transportation and tourism. The Ozarks Regional Commission sponsored numerous projects.<ref>J. Blake Perkins, "Growing the Hills: The Ozarks Regional Commission and the Politics of Economic Development in the Mid-American Highlands, 1960s–1970s," ''Missouri Historical Review,'' 107 (April 2013), 144–67.</ref>

===Current economic activities===
{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2018}}
[[Tourism]] is the growth industry of the Ozarks as evidenced by the growth of the [[Branson, Missouri]], entertainment center celebrating traditional Ozark culture.<ref name="SW Mo Overall Ec Dev">[http://smcog.missouristate.edu/1998%20OEPD/3AreaOverview.doc ''Area and Economic Overview: Southwest Missouri Overall Economic Development Program'']{{dead link|date=January 2016}}. Southwest Missouri Council of Governments White Paper.</ref><ref name="Tourism Transforms">Snyder, Robert E. "Shepherd of the Hills Country: Tourism Transforms the Ozarks, 1880s-1930s". ''The Journal of American Culture'', Volume 27 Issue 1, Pages 117-119.</ref> The rapidly growing [[Northwest Arkansas|Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area]] has also become a tourist hub, drawing nationwide attention for the [[Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art]] in [[Bentonville, Arkansas]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Jayne |date=June 28, 2013 |title=Wal-Mart's hometown: 'Mayberry' goes Manhattan |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2013/06/27/bentonville-broadens-its-palette/2466567/ |access-date=June 30, 2013 }}</ref>

[[Poultry]] farming and food processing are significant industries throughout the region. The [[Tyson Foods]] corporation and [[ConAgra Foods]] each operates several hundred poultry farms and processing plants throughout the Ozarks. [[Schreiber Foods]] has operations throughout southern Missouri.

The [[Trucking industry in the United States|trucking industry]] is important to the regional economy, with national carriers based there including [[J. B. Hunt]], [[ABF Freight System|ABF]], and Prime, Inc. Springfield remains an operational hub for the [[BNSF Railway]]. Logging and timber industries are also significant in the Ozark economy, with operations ranging from small family-run sawmills to large commercial concerns. [[Fortune 500]] companies such as [[Wal-Mart]], [[Leggett & Platt]], [[Bass Pro Shops]], and [[O'Reilly Auto Parts]] are based in the Ozarks.

The area is home to several [[Missouri wine]] and spirit regions, including the [[Ozark Highlands AVA|Ozark Highlands]] and [[Ozark Mountain AVA|Ozark Mountain]] [[American Viticultural Area]]s, and the [[Ozark Highlands Spirits|Ozark Highland Spirits]] Region. There are a number of [[Craft brewery and microbrewery|microbreweries]] throughout the region.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sorensen |first1=Brian |title=Arkansas Beer: An Intoxicating History |date=2017 |publisher=American Palate |location=Charleston, SC |isbn=978-1-4671-3755-3 |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34973559-arkansas-beer |access-date=29 December 2021}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{See also|Culture of Missouri}}{{See also|Culture of Arkansas}}{{See also|Black Ozarkers}}
"Ozark" also refers to the distinctive culture, architecture,<ref name="National Trust"/><ref name="Joplin Globe Original Ozarks">Andy Ostmeyer. [https://archive.today/20130127214405/http://www.joplinglobe.com/siteSearch/apstorysection/local_story_172200204.html "Original Ozarks: Evidence of settlement before 1830 hard to find"]. ''Joplin Globe''. June 21, 2009. According to the National Register of Historic Places, the Rice-Upshaw House, ca.1826, "is one of the two oldest remaining standing buildings in Arkansas, and a rare surviving example of a building from Arkansas' territorial period"; Wolf House, ca. 1825, overlooks the junction of the Norfork and White rivers; the Craighead-Henry House, ca. 1816, is "one of the oldest known structures in the interior [Missouri] Ozarks."</ref> and [[Ozark English|dialect]] shared by the people who live on the plateau. Early settlers in Missouri were [[American pioneer|pioneers]] who came west from the [[Appalachia|Southern Appalachians]] at the beginning of the 19th century,<ref name="Revolution in the Heartland"/><ref name="Ozark Magic and Folklore">Randolph, Vance. ''Ozark Magic and Folklore''. 367 pages. Courier Dover Publications, 1964.</ref> followed in the 1840s and 1850s by [[Irish Americans|Irish]] and [[German Americans|German]] immigrants. Much of the Ozark population is of [[English Americans|English]], [[Scots-Irish Americans|Scots-Irish]], and German descent, and the Ozark families from which the regional culture derived<ref name="Ozark Magic and Folklore"/> tend to have lived in the area since the 19th century.<ref name="Rafferty 2">Rafferty, Milton D. ''The Ozarks: Land and Life'', University of Arkansas Press, 2nd ed., 2001. {{ISBN|1-55728-714-7}}</ref>

[[File:Cave Spring School 1838.jpg|thumb|upright|right|The first public school in [[Jasper County, Missouri]]]]
Early settlers relied on [[hunting]], [[fishing]], [[trapping]], and [[foraging]] to supplement their diets and incomes.<ref name="Revolution in the Heartland"/> Today hunting and fishing for recreation are common activities and an important part of the tourist industry. Foraging for [[Edible mushroom|mushrooms]] (especially [[morel]]s) and for [[American ginseng|ginseng]] is common and financially supported by established buyers in the area. Other forages include [[Phytolacca americana|poke]], [[watercress]], [[Diospyros virginiana|persimmons]] and [[Asimina triloba|pawpaw]]; wild berries such as [[blackberry]], [[black raspberry]], [[raspberry]], [[Morus rubra|red mulberry]], [[Prunus serotina|black cherry]], [[Virginia strawberry|wild strawberry]] and [[dewberry]]; and wild [[nut (fruit)|nuts]] such as [[Juglans nigra|black walnut]] and even [[acorn]]s.<ref name="Wild Edibles">Phillips, Jan. ''Wild Edibles of Missouri''. Missouri Department of Conservation, 2nd edition (1998). [http://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2010/09/15891_0.pdf Cover, Introduction, Acknowledgments and Preface] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501085002/http://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2010/09/15891_0.pdf |date=May 1, 2015 }}; [http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/how/cooking/wild-edibles-missouri Chapters]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808052810/http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/how/cooking/wild-edibles-missouri |date=August 8, 2014 }}; [http://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2010/09/15906.pdf Color Plates] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921205540/http://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2010/09/15906.pdf |date=September 21, 2015 }}.</ref> Edible [[native plant|native]] [[legume]]s, [[grass|wild grasses]] and [[wildflower]]s are plentiful, and [[beekeeping]] is common.<ref name="Naturalist">[http://www.highplainsfilms.org/fp_naturalist.html ''The Naturalist'']. High Plains Films. Doug Hawes-Davis, Director. 32 minutes, Color/B&W, 2001.</ref>

Print and broadcast media have explored Ozark culture broadly. Books set in the Ozarks include ''[[Where the Red Fern Grows]]'', ''[[The Shepherd of the Hills (novel)|The Shepherd of the Hills]]'',<ref name="Tourism Transforms"/> and ''As a Friend''.<ref name="As A Friend">[[Forrest Gander|Gander, Forrest]]. ''[http://www.ndpublishing.com/books/GanderAsaFriend.html As a Friend] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928200449/http://www.ndpublishing.com/books/GanderAsaFriend.html |date=September 28, 2011 }}''. [[New York City]]: [[New Directions Publishers|New Directions Publishing Corporation]]. 2008.</ref> The 1999 film ''[[Ride with the Devil (film)|Ride with the Devil]]'', based on the book ''Woe to Live On'',<ref>Woodrell, Daniel. ''Woe to Live On''. Henry Holt, 1987.</ref> depicts conflict in southwest Missouri during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref name="Ward L. Schrantz">Ward L. Schrantz. ''Jasper County, Missouri in the Civil War''. 1923.</ref> ''[[Winter's Bone]]'',<ref>Woodrell, Daniel. ''Winter's Bone''. Little, Brown and Company, 2006</ref> a novel by [[Daniel Woodrell]] (author of ''Woe to Live On''), reflects on contemporary [[methamphetamine]] culture and its impact on families on the plateau. Released as a feature film in 2010, ''Winter's Bone'' received the Grand Jury Prize at the [[Sundance Film Festival]], as well as other awards. Several early and influential [[country music|country-music]] television and radio programs originated from [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]] in the 1950s and '60s, including ABC-TV's ''[[Ozark Jubilee]]'' and ''The [[Slim Wilson]] Show'' on [[KYTV (TV)|KYTV]]. The Clampett clan of ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'' TV show provide a stereotypical depiction of Ozark people. Ozark musicians include [[Porter Wagoner]] and [[Old-time music|old-time]] [[fiddle]]r [[Bob Holt (fiddler)|Bob Holt]].<ref name="Musical Traditions on Bob Holt">Henigan, Julie. [http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/bob_holt.htm Play Me Something Quick and Devilish: Bob Holt – Old-Time Square Dance Fiddler], ''Musical Traditions'', Article MT021, June 1998.</ref> [[Netflix]] drama series ''[[Ozark (TV series)|Ozark]]'' takes place in [[Osage Beach, Missouri]] and revolves around the well-to-do Byrde family as their lives are uprooted and they are forced to move from [[Chicago]] to the Ozarks after a [[money laundering]] scheme goes wrong. The series focuses on the Byrdes' dealings in the Ozarks, as well as their interactions with local Ozark crime families. The series premiered on July 21, 2017.<ref name="The Independent">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/netflix-ozark-tv-series-new-drug-trade-drama-jason-bateman-laura-linney-mexico-a7755401.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/netflix-ozark-tv-series-new-drug-trade-drama-jason-bateman-laura-linney-mexico-a7755401.html |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Ozark trailer: Exclusive look at Netflix's gritty, dark new drug trade drama |first=Clarisse |last=Loughrey |work=The Independent |date=May 25, 2017 |access-date=April 8, 2020}}</ref>

Examples of commercial interpretations of traditional Ozark culture include the two major family theme parks in the region, [[Silver Dollar City]] and the now defunct [[Dogpatch USA]], and the resort entertainment complex in [[Branson, Missouri|Branson]]. [[Ozark Folkways]] in [[Winslow, Arkansas]], and [[Ozark Folk Center State Park]] in [[Mountain View, Arkansas]], interpret regional culture through musical performance and exhibitions of pioneer skills and crafts.

Traditional Ozark culture includes stories and tunes passed orally between generations through community music parties and other informal gatherings.<ref name="Genuine Hillbilly">Aunt Shelle Stormoe. [http://open.salon.com/blog/aunt_shelle_stormoe/2008/10/23/how_to_spot_a_genuine_ozark_hillbilly "How to Spot a Genuine Ozark Hillbilly"]. October 23, 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204152346/http://open.salon.com/blog/aunt_shelle_stormoe/2008/10/23/how_to_spot_a_genuine_ozark_hillbilly |date=February 4, 2015 }}</ref> Many of these tunes and tales can be traced to [[United Kingdom|British]] origins<ref name="Musical Traditions 2">Smith, Vic. [http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/ozark4.htm Review of Ozark Folksongs], ''Musical Traditions'', January 2001.</ref> and to [[German folklore]]. Moreover, historian [[Vance Randolph]] attributes the formation of much Ozark lore to individual families when "backwoods parents begin by telling outrageous whoppers to their children and end by half believing the wildest of these tales themselves."<ref name="Ozark Magic and Folklore"/> Randolph collected Ozark folklore and lyrics in volumes such as the national bestseller ''Pissing in the Snow and Other Ozark Folktales'' (University of Illinois Press, 1976), ''Ozark Folksongs'' ([[University of Missouri Press]], 1980), a four-volume anthology of regional songs and ballads collected in the 1920s and 1930s,<ref name="Musical Traditions 2"/> and ''Ozark Magic and Folklore'' (Courier Dover Publications, 1964).<ref name="Ozark Magic and Folklore"/> Evidenced by Randolph's extensive [[field work]], many Ozark anecdotes from the [[oral tradition]] are often [[Ribaldry|bawdy]], full of wild embellishments on everyday themes.<ref name="UI Catalog">{{cite web |last=Randolph |first=Vance |author-link=Vance Randolph |title=University of Illinois Press Catalog Entry on ''Pissing in the Snow and Other Ozark Folktales'' |publisher=Press.uillinois.edu |url=http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/33zcq6kh9780252013645.html |access-date=January 6, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Whole Earth Review">Florer, Faith L. [https://web.archive.org/web/20041119035624/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_1987_Summer/ai_5054266 "Book Review. Pissing in the snow and other Ozark folktales".] ''Whole Earth Review''. Summer, 1987. "Because of their—ahem—subject matter, the tales contained in this volume could not be published with Randolph's four great collections of Ozark material published in the 1950s, and have until recently been circulating only in manuscript and on elusive microfilm."</ref> In 1941–42, commissioned by [[Alan Lomax]] of the [[Archive of Folk Culture]], Randolph returned to the Ozarks with a portable recording machine from the [[Library of Congress]] and captured over 800 songs, ballads and instrumentals.<ref name="Rounder Records Cat">{{cite web |date=December 6, 2012 |title=Rounder Records Catalog Entry |publisher=Rounder.com |url=http://www.rounder.com/?id=album.php&musicalGroupId=6619&catalog_id=6300|access-date=January 6, 2013}}</ref> Selected from among these several hundred recordings, 35 tracks were released on ''Various Artists: Ozark Folksongs'' (Rounder Records) in 2001.<ref name="Musical Traditions 2"/>

[[File:Artist's Point, AR.JPG|thumb|220px|Artist's Point, located along the [[Boston Mountains Scenic Loop]] in [[Crawford County, Arkansas]]]]

[[Traditional square dance|Square dances]] were an important social avenue throughout the Ozarks into the 20th century.<ref name="Bittersweet Square Dance">Karen Mulrenin, Rita Saeger and Terry Brandt. [http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/bittersweet/fa74d.htm "Old-Time Ozark Square Dancing"]. ''Bittersweet'', Volume II, No. 1, Fall 1974.</ref><ref name="Bittersweet Fiddlin' Around">Foreman, Diana. [http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/bittersweet/wi77j.htm "Fiddlin' Around"]. ''Bittersweet'', Volume V, No. 2, Winter 1977.</ref><ref name="Bittersweet Four Musicians">Edited and photography by Allen Gage. [http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/bittersweet/sp82e.htm "Old-Time Fiddling: A Traditional Folk Art With Four Ozark Musicians"], ''Bittersweet'', Volume IX, No. 3, Spring 1982.</ref> Square dances sprang up wherever people concentrated around mills and timber camps, springs, fords, and in towns small and large. Geographically isolated communities saw their own local dance tunes and variations develop.<ref name="Bittersweet Square Dance"/><ref name="Bittersweet Fiddlin' Around"/> Of all the traditional musicians in the Ozarks, the fiddler holds a distinct place in both the community and folklore.<ref name="Bittersweet Square Dance"/><ref name="Bittersweet Fiddlin' Around"/> Community fiddlers were revered for carrying local tunes; regionally, traveling fiddlers brought new tunes and entertainment, even while many viewed their arrival as a threat to morality.<ref name="Musical Traditions on Bob Holt"/><ref name="Bittersweet Square Dance"/><ref name="Bittersweet Fiddlin' Around"/><ref name="Bittersweet Four Musicians"/> In 2007, Gordon McCann, a chronicler of Ozarks [[folklife]] and fiddle music for over four decades, donated a collection of audio recordings, [[fieldnotes]] and photographs to [[Missouri State University]] in Springfield.<ref name="Gordon McCann Donation">[http://www.news.missouristate.edu/releases/42884.htm Gordon McCann pledges collection to Missouri State University: Four decades of material will be housed in Meyer Library]. Missouri State University Press Release. September 26, 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413054454/http://www.news.missouristate.edu/releases/42884.htm |date=April 13, 2008 }}</ref> The collection includes more than 3,000 hours of fiddle music and interviews recorded at jam sessions, music parties, concerts and dances in the Ozarks. Selected audio recordings along with biographical sketches, photographs and tune histories were published in Drew Beisswenger and Gordon McCann's 2008 book/37-track CD set ''Mel Bay Presents Ozarks Fiddle Music: 308 Tunes Featuring 30 Legendary Fiddlers With Selections from 50 Other Great Ozarks Fiddlers''.
[[File:2024 Missouri Amendment 3 results map by county.svg|thumb|right|200px|In the [[2024 Missouri Amendment 3]], counties in the Ozarks voted strongly against legal abortion.]] 
From 1973 to 1983, the Bittersweet project, which began as an English class at [[Lebanon High School (Missouri)|Lebanon High School]] in Missouri, collected 476 taped and transcribed interviews, published 482 stories, and took over 50,000 photographs documenting traditional Ozark culture.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bittersweet |publisher=Thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org |url=http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/bittersweet/index.html |access-date=January 6, 2013}}</ref>

Population influx since the 1950s,<ref name="Baxter Co"/><ref name="SW Mo Overall Ec Dev"/> coupled with geographically lying in both the [[Midwest]] and [[Upper South]], proximity to the [[Mississippi embayment]], the [[Osage Plains|Osage]] and [[Northern Plains]], contributes to changing cultural values in the Ozarks. Theme parks and theatres seen to reflect regional values have little in common with traditional Ozark culture. Community tradition bearers remain active, in decreasing numbers, far afield of commercial offers.<ref>[http://library.missouristate.edu/projects/jamsessions/index.htm "Jam Sessions in Southwest Missouri"]. Missouri State University Libraries.</ref><ref>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/MO/200003191.html ''Bob Holt: Fiddler from the Missouri Ozarks'']. Local Legacies project of the Library of Congress.</ref>

===Religion===
Ozark religion, like that of [[Appalachia]], was predominantly [[Baptist]] and [[Methodist]] during periods of early settlement; it tends to the [[social conservatism|conservative]] or individualistic, with [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalians]], [[Assemblies of God]], Baptists including [[Southern Baptist Convention|Southern Baptists]], [[Churches of Christ|Church of Christ]], [[pentecostalism|Pentecostals]], and other [[Protestant]] denominations present, as well as [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholics]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Association of Religion Data Archives &#124; Maps & Reports |publisher=Thearda.com |url=http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/state/05_2000.asp |access-date=February 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510124306/http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/state/05_2000.asp |archive-date=May 10, 2008  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Association of Religion Data Archives &#124; Maps & Reports |publisher=Thearda.com |url=http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/state/29_2000.asp |access-date=February 19, 2010 |archive-date=March 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327180710/http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/state/29_2000.asp  }}</ref> Religious organizations headquartered in the Ozarks include the [[Assemblies of God]] and [[Baptist Bible Fellowship International]] in [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]] and the [[General Association of General Baptists]] in [[Poplar Bluff, Missouri|Poplar Bluff]].

==See also==

{{Portal|Missouri}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

;National Forests of the Ozarks
* {{annotated link|Mark Twain National Forest}}
* {{annotated link|Ozark–St. Francis National Forest}}

;Ozark National Rivers and Wild Scenic Riverways
* {{annotated link|Buffalo National River}}
* {{annotated link|Ozark National Scenic Riverways}}
* {{annotated link|Eleven Point National Wild and Scenic River}}

;Hiking Trail Systems of the Ozarks
* {{annotated link|Ozark Trail (hiking trail)|Ozark Trail}}
* {{annotated link|Ozark Highlands Trail}}

{{col-2}}

{{Collapsible list
|title       = {{space|0}} U.S. Wilderness Areas in the Ozarks
|frame_style = border:none; padding: 0;
|title_style = 
|list_style  = text-align:left;display:none;
|
:* {{annotated link|Bell Mountain Wilderness}}
:* {{annotated link|Devils Backbone Wilderness}}
:* {{annotated link|Hercules Glades Wilderness}}
:* {{annotated link|Irish Wilderness}}
:* {{annotated link|Leatherwood Wilderness}}
:* {{annotated link|Paddy Creek Wilderness}}
:* {{annotated link|Piney Creek Wilderness}}
:* {{annotated link|Richland Creek Wilderness}}
:* {{annotated link|Rockpile Mountain Wilderness}}
:* {{annotated link|Upper Buffalo Wilderness}}
}}

* {{annotated link|Ozark Highlands (ecoregion)}}
* {{annotated link|List of regions of the United States#Unofficial U.S. regions|List of U.S. multistate regions}}
* {{annotated link|Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project}}
* {{annotated link|Ozark Trail (auto trail)|The Old Ozark Auto Trail}}
* {{annotated link|Green Country}}
* {{annotated link|Cookson Hills}}
* {{annotated link|Carthage Underground}}
;Ships named Ozark
* {{annotated link|USS Ozark (1863)|USS ''Ozark'' (1863)}}
* {{annotated link|USS Ozark (BM-7)|USS ''Ozark'' (BM-7)}}
* {{annotated link|USS Ozark (LSV-2)|USS ''Ozark'' (LSV-2)}}
{{col-end}}

==References==
<!-- Adjusted date and accessdate entries to dmy format on March 13, 2013 -->
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Beisswenger, Drew & Gordon McCann, ''[http://www.folklib.net/book/index/book_ozarks_fiddle_music.shtml Mel Bay Presents Ozarks Fiddle Music: 308 Tunes Featuring 30 Legendary Fiddlers With Selections from 50 Other Great Ozarks Fiddlers].'' 2008.
* Blevins, Brooks, ''A History of the Ozarks: Volume 1: The Old Ozarks.'' Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2018.
* Rafferty, Milton D. ''The Ozarks: Land and Life.'' Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 2001.
* Rafferty, Milton D. "Agricultural Change in the Western Ozarks" ''Missouri Historical Review'' 69 (April 1975): 299-322. [http://digital.shsmo.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/mhr/id/36089/rec/2?_gl=1*4wn5cm*_ga*MTkyNjAzOTc5My4xNjk4NDYxMDM0*_ga_B5NXL6MKLP*MTY5ODY2NTc4OC42LjEuMTY5ODY2NzcwMS4wLjAuMA.. online]
* Randolph, Vance. ''The Ozarks: An American Survival of Primitive Society.'' 1931.
* Rossiter, Phyllis. ''A Living History of the Ozarks'' Gretna, LA: Pelican, 1992.
* Phillips, Jared. ''Hipbillies: Deep Revolution in the Arkansas Ozarks'' Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 2019.

===Folklore===
* Gilmore, Robert Karl. ''Ozark Baptizings, Hangings, and Other Diversions: Theatrical Folkways of Rural Missouri, 1885-1910'' Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1984.
* Morrow, Lynn, and James Keefe, eds. ''White River Chronicles.'' Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 1994.
* McNeil, W. K.''Ozark Country.'' Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1995.
* Randolph, Vance. ''Ozark Folksongs.'' In four volumes. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1980)

===History===
* ''A reminiscent history of the Ozark region: comprising a condensed general history, a brief descriptive history of each county, and numerous biographical sketches of prominent citizens of such counties'' (1894) [http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?sid=2eb3977dac6e01be233d3e8ddf7526ca;g=;c=umlib;idno=umlm000017 full text]

===Tourism===
* Morrow, Lynn, and Linda Myers-Phinney. ''Shepherd of the Hills Country: Tourism Transforms the Ozarks, 1880s–1930s.'' Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 1999.

==External links==
{{commons category|Ozark Mountains}}
{{wikivoyage|Ozarks}}
* {{WWF ecoregion|name=Ozark Mountain Forests|id=na0412}}
* [http://www.nps.gov/ozar Ozark National Scenic Riverways]
* {{cite web |url=http://academic.emporia.edu/schulmem/hydro/TERM%20PROJECTS/Smith/Ozark1.htm |title=Ozark Aquifer |last=Smith |first=Scott M. |website=Introduction to Hydrogeology |publisher=Emporia State University}}
* [http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/oklahoma/Ozark/ Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge]
* [http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=440 Ozark Mountains, Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, The Central Arkansas Library System.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080916163109/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/10/ozark-trail/white-text The Intimate Wild: Ozark Highlands Trail, National Geographic, 10/2008.]
* [http://southernspaces.org/2010/closest-everlastin-ozark-agricultural-biodiversity-and-subsistence-traditions "Closest to Everlastin'": Ozark Agricultural Biodiversity and Subsistence Traditions, 9/2010.]
* {{cite web |last1=Abbott |first1=B. Nick |last2=Marston |first2=Richard A. |year=2009 |title=Ozark Plateau |website=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society |url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=OZ002}}
{{Collapsible list
|title       = {{space|0}} National Scenic Byways of the Ozarks
|frame_style = border:none; padding: 0;
|title_style = 
|list_style  = text-align:left;display:none;
|
::* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130812030405/http://byways.org/explore/byways/2155 Arkansas Scenic 7 Byway]
::* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130811171636/http://byways.org/explore/byways/2157 Ozark Highlands Scenic Byway]
::* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130811195447/http://byways.org/explore/byways/2156 Pig Trail Scenic Byway]
::* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130830201157/http://byways.org/explore/byways/2159/ Sylamore Scenic Byway]
::* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130812092122/http://byways.org/explore/byways/2295 Blue Buck Knob Scenic Byway]
::* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130812171039/http://byways.org/explore/byways/2294 Glade Top Trail]
::* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130813041317/http://byways.org/explore/byways/2296 Sugar Top Scenic Byway]
}}

{{Kansas}}
{{Oklahoma}}
{{Mountains of Arkansas}}
{{Mountains of Missouri}}
{{Mountains of Oklahoma}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ozarks| ]]
[[Category:Civilian Conservation Corps in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Civilian Conservation Corps in Missouri]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Arkansas]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Kansas]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Missouri]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Physiographic regions of the United States]]
[[Category:Plateaus of the United States]]
[[Category:Regions of Arkansas]]
[[Category:U.S. Interior Highlands]]