Crowley's Ridge
Crowley's Ridge (also written Crowleys , German Crowleys Ridge ) is an unusual geological formation that protrudes between 250 and 550 feet (170 m) above the alluvial plain of the Mississippi Bay (Mississippi Embayment) . It extends over a distance of 150 miles (240 km) from southeast Missouri to the Mississippi River near West Helena and is the most distinctive landscape in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain between Cape Girardeau and the Gulf of Mexico .
The elongated narrow hilly landscape is the sixth and smallest natural division (natural space) of the state of Arkansas . She is part of the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest protected.
Many of the major cities in the Arkansas Delta are on Crowley's Ridge. During the civil war there took place on 1/2. May 1863 the Battle of Chalk Bluff took place.
Surname
Crowley's Ridge is named after Benjamin Crowley (1758–1842), the first known American settler in the Paragould area . Crowley is buried in Shiloh Cemetery in Greene County . A tomb marks the spot. The cemetery is part of Crowley's Ridge State Park . There are other early, unmarked graves in the vicinity of Crowley's grave.
geology
The ridge consists mainly of wind - deposited loess sediments . This makes it very different from the flat plain all around and from the black earth soils of the Mississippi Delta. The ridge varies in width from half a mile (800 m) to 12 miles (19 km) and reaches a height of 170 m at its northern end. The highest point on the Arkansas Ridge is Legacy Mountain south of Jonesboro . It is believed that the area was originally an island between the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers that was isolated when the rivers changed their course ancient times. However, recent research has questioned the origin of fluvial processes.
Loess deposits are found along both sides of the Mississippi River's Alluvial Valley . These loess deposits are classic examples of periglacial loess deposits. Crowley's Ridge is similar to the Loess Hills of northwest Missouri and southwest Iowa .
There is also evidence that the landscape has been elevated over the years and that this elevation process is still ongoing. That leads to an alternate explanation that creates a link between the Ridge and the nearby New Madrid Seismic Zone .
Soils and vegetation
The flora and fauna on the ridge appear to be much more closely related to those of the Tennessee Hills to the east than to those of the Ozark Mountains to the west. These unique habitats were placed under protection through the establishment of various state and city parks, including the St. Francis National Forest, Recreational Lakes and, in 1997, a National Scenic Byway , the Crowley's Ridge Parkway .
The soils in the region are medium to very fertile in places. The land is more or less rugged, which makes it difficult to plant row crops . The soils also erode easily. Commercial farming is only found in the loess plains of the ridge; all around, however, extend the fertile lands of the Mississippi alluvial plain.
The vegetation consists mainly of oak and hickory forests, comparable to the vegetation in the Appalachian Mountains . Characteristic tree species are the tulip tree and the American beech . Many ferns and flowers species occur there, including the American bellflower ( Campanulastrum americanum ), campion (Silene subciliata) , Asclepias tuberosa , the (Blue) Lobelia cardinalis (Lobelia cardinalis and siphilitica) , phlox , verbena , forest hydrangeas , the hibiscus , asters and carolina jasmine .
The lower areas around the hill used to be much more swampy, so that the ridge was the most suitable place for settlements in the region at the time of the first settlers. This made the ridge an important north-south axis for traffic, especially since traveling along the ridge was easier than through the swamps.
Fossils
The region around the hill is covered with thick river deposits, so that only a few fossils could be found outside of some gravel pits . The teeth of mastodons , mammoths and horses from 10,000 years ago came to light there. Crowley's Ridge also has important outcrops of fossil-rich tertiary sediments, including the only documented outcrop from the Miocene . A silicified conifer stump weighing several tons was excavated near Wittsburg and many more were found around Piggott . Mastodon bones were also found in the urban area of Helena at the southern end of the ridge. In Forrest City , in the riverbed of the Crow Creek , a camp was oysters -shells with a volume of nearly 7,000,000 cubic yards (5,351,884 m³) discovered.
Crowley's Ridge Nature Center
The Forrest L. Wood Crowley's Ridge Nature Center in Jonesboro offers a self-guided exhibition about the topography , natural history and wildlife of Crowley's Ridge. The information center is operated by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) and opened in 2004. The center has an exhibit, Discovery Room, observation tower, classroom, and souvenir shop. There are hiking trails in the area through wetlands, forests and prairies, as well as an accessible path and a boardwalk around a pond. The center is named after Forrest L. Wood, a former commissioner and supporter of the AGFC.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ National Scenic Byways - Scenic Byways and Highways - Arkansas Scenic Routes ( Memento of the original from September 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b Roy B. Van Arsdale, Robert A. Williams, Eugene S. Schweig, Kaye M. Shedlock, Jack K. Odum and Kenneth W. King, The origin of Crowley's Ridge, northeastern Arkansas: Erosional remnant or tectonic uplift? In: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America ; August 1995; Vol. 85; No. 4; Pp. 963-985. Abstract
- ^ E. Arthur Bettis, Daniel R. Muhs, Helen M. Roberts, Ann G. Wintle: Last Glacial loess in the conterminous USA. [1] In: Quaternary Science Reviews. 2003, Vol. 22, 18-19: 1907-1946 doi: 10.1016 / s0277-3791 (03) 00169-0
- ^ Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis: Quaternary loess-Paleosol sequences as examples of climate-driven sedimentary extremes. (PDF) In: Geological Society of America. Special Paper 370, 2003: 53-74 doi: 10.1130 / 0-8137-2370-1.53
- ↑ a b Crowley’s Ridge ( Memento of the original from March 12, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. scsc.k12.ar.us.
- ↑ Crowley's Ridge Natue Center . Arkansas Fish and Game Commission. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
- ↑ Forrest L. Wood Crowley's Ridge Nature Center . Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
Web links
- Semo.edu: Crowley's Ridge
- Crowleys Ridge in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
- Arkansas State Parks: official Crowley's Ridge State Park website
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas history and culture.net: Crowley's Ridge State Park
- St. Francis National Forest at Crowley's Ridge - at southernmost end of ridge, adjacent to Mississippi River .
- Crowley's Ridge Natue Center
Coordinates: 36 ° 8 ′ 0 ″ N , 90 ° 34 ′ 30 ″ W.