Crowley's Ridge
Encyclopedia
Crowley's Ridge is an unusual geological formation that rises 250 to 550 feet (167.6 m) above the alluvial plain
of the Mississippi embayment
in a 150 miles (241.4 km) line from southeastern Missouri
to the Mississippi River
near Helena, Arkansas
. It is the most prominent feature in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
between Cape Girardeau, Missouri
and the Gulf of Mexico
. This narrow rolling hill region rising above the flat plain is the sixth, and smallest, natural division of the state of Arkansas
. Most of the major cities of the Arkansas Delta
region lie along Crowley's Ridge. The ridge received its name from Benjamin Crowley
, the first European settler to reach the area (near present day Paragould, Arkansas
) sometime around 1820. The Civil War
Battle of Chalk Bluff
was fought on Crowley's Ridge on May 1–2, 1863.
. It contrasts greatly with the flat table land around it and with the black soil that makes up the delta. It varies from half a mile to 12 miles (19.3 km) wide and reaches an elevation of 550 feet (167.6 m) near its northern extremity. The formation is generally thought to have originally been an island between the Mississippi River
and Ohio River
that became a long low hilly ridge after the rivers changed course millions of years ago. Recent research, however, questions the fluvial origin. There is evidence that the area's elevation has increased over the years, suggesting that uplift took place and is still taking place. This alternative explanation posits a link between the ridge and the nearby New Madrid Seismic Zone
.
hills to the east than to the Ozark Mountains to the west. This unique habitat has resulted in the establishment of several state and city parks, the St. Francis National Forest, recreational lakes, and in 1997 a national scenic byway
, the Crowley's Ridge Parkway
.
The soils in this area are moderately fertile and sometimes rich. The land is moderately rugged which does not foster row-crop agriculture. These soils are also easily eroded. There is some commercial agriculture in the loessal
plains area of the ridge. The ridge is surrounded by the fertile lands of the delta region
. The vegetation is predominantly oak
and hickory
forests, similar to vegetation found in the Appalachian Mountains
. An example is the tulip tree
(a yellow poplar) and the American beech
. Ferns and flowers abound here, including the American bell flower, crimson catchfly, butterfly weed
, cardinal flower, blue lobelia, phlox
, verbena
, wild hydrangea, hibiscus
, aster and yellow jasmine. The low-lying areas around the ridge were once much swamp
ier, and the ridge provided a natural and more healthful place for settlers to establish homes. The ridge became a natural north-south communications link for the region, since travel along the ridge was much easier than through the swampy lowlands.
s are found except in gravel pits. These pits sometimes reveal the teeth of large mastodons, mammoths and horses which roamed the continent as recently as 10,000 years ago. Crowley's Ridge contains important exposures of fossiliferous Tertiary sediments and contains the only documented Miocene
exposures in the state. A silicified
conifer stump weighing several tons was unearthed near Wittsburg, and many more were found around Piggott
. Mastodon
bones were found within the city limits of Helena
at the southern end of the ridge. Near Forrest City
, in the bed of Crow Creek, a deposit of oyster
shells estimated to be nearly 7,000,000 cubic yards in size was discovered.
. Crowley is buried in the Shiloh Cemetery in Greene County, Arkansas, and a monument marks the spot. The cemetery is part of Crowley's Ridge State Park
; next to Crowley's grave other early settlers of the ridge are buried in unmarked graves.
Alluvial plain
An alluvial plain is a relatively flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms...
of the Mississippi embayment
Mississippi embayment
The Mississippi Embayment is a physiographic feature in the south-central United States, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. It is essentially a northward continuation of the fluvial sediments of the Mississippi River Delta to its confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois. The embayment...
in a 150 miles (241.4 km) line from southeastern Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
to the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
near Helena, Arkansas
Helena-West Helena, Arkansas
Helena-West Helena is the county seat of and the largest city within Phillips County, Arkansas, United States. The current city represents a consolidation, effective on January 1, 2006, of the two Arkansas cities of Helena and West Helena. West Helena is located on the western side of Crowley's...
. It is the most prominent feature in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
Mississippi Alluvial Plain
The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain is an alluvial plain created by the Mississippi River on which lies parts of seven states, from southern Louisiana to southern Illinois....
between Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau is a city located in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in Southeast Missouri in the United States. It is located approximately southeast of St. Louis and north of Memphis. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 37,941. A college town, it is the home of Southeast Missouri...
and the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. This narrow rolling hill region rising above the flat plain is the sixth, and smallest, natural division of the state of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. Most of the major cities of the Arkansas Delta
Arkansas Delta
The Arkansas Delta is one of the five natural regions of the state of Arkansas. It runs along the eastern border of the state next to the Mississippi River. It is part of the Mississippi River alluvial plain, itself part of the Mississippi embayment...
region lie along Crowley's Ridge. The ridge received its name from Benjamin Crowley
Benjamin Crowley
Benjamin Crowley II was an early settler of Arkansas.Crowley was born in Halifax County, Virginia. He was the son of Benjamin Crowley I and Sarah Strong. By 1787, he was living in Oglethorpe County, Georgia where the Crowley and Strong families had migrated. On December 15, 1795, he married...
, the first European settler to reach the area (near present day Paragould, Arkansas
Paragould, Arkansas
-Health & Education:Paragould is home to Arkansas State University Paragould, Arkansas Northeastern College, Black River Technical College, and Crowley's Ridge College. Paragould has two public school districts, the Greene County Technical School District and the Paragould School District, as well...
) sometime around 1820. The Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Battle of Chalk Bluff
Battle of Chalk Bluff
The Battle of Chalk Bluff was a land battle of the American world War that took place in Clay County, Arkansas, and Dunklin County, Missouri, on May 1 and May 2, 1863. Brig. Gen. William Vandever, commanding the 2nd Division of the Union Army of the Frontier, was repulsed in an attempt to prevent...
was fought on Crowley's Ridge on May 1–2, 1863.
Composition and origin
The ridge is primarily composed of sediment as loessLoess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
. It contrasts greatly with the flat table land around it and with the black soil that makes up the delta. It varies from half a mile to 12 miles (19.3 km) wide and reaches an elevation of 550 feet (167.6 m) near its northern extremity. The formation is generally thought to have originally been an island between the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
that became a long low hilly ridge after the rivers changed course millions of years ago. Recent research, however, questions the fluvial origin. There is evidence that the area's elevation has increased over the years, suggesting that uplift took place and is still taking place. This alternative explanation posits a link between the ridge and the nearby New Madrid Seismic Zone
New Madrid Seismic Zone
The New Madrid Seismic Zone , sometimes called the New Madrid Fault Line, is a major seismic zone and a prolific source of intraplate earthquakes in the southern and midwestern United States, stretching to the southwest from New Madrid, Missouri.The New Madrid fault system was responsible for the...
.
Soils and vegetation
The flora and fauna of the ridge seem more closely related to the TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
hills to the east than to the Ozark Mountains to the west. This unique habitat has resulted in the establishment of several state and city parks, the St. Francis National Forest, recreational lakes, and in 1997 a national scenic byway
National Scenic Byway
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for its archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and/or scenic qualities. The program was established by Congress in 1991 to preserve and protect the nation's scenic but often...
, the Crowley's Ridge Parkway
Crowley's Ridge Parkway
Crowley's Ridge Parkway is a road that runs in Arkansas and Missouri along Crowley's Ridge and Ozark-St. Francis National Forest. The route was designated a state scenic byway in Arkansas in 1997 and a National Scenic Byway in 1998...
.
The soils in this area are moderately fertile and sometimes rich. The land is moderately rugged which does not foster row-crop agriculture. These soils are also easily eroded. There is some commercial agriculture in the loessal
Loess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
plains area of the ridge. The ridge is surrounded by the fertile lands of the delta region
Mississippi Alluvial Plain
The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain is an alluvial plain created by the Mississippi River on which lies parts of seven states, from southern Louisiana to southern Illinois....
. The vegetation is predominantly oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and hickory
Hickory
Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
forests, similar to vegetation found in the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
. An example is the tulip tree
Liriodendron tulipifera
Liriodendron tulipifera, commonly known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tuliptree, tulip poplar or yellow poplar, is the Western Hemisphere representative of the two-species genus Liriodendron, and the tallest eastern hardwood...
(a yellow poplar) and the American beech
American Beech
Fagus grandifolia, also known as American Beech or North american beech, is a species of beech native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario in southeastern Canada, west to Wisconsin and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida in the United States. Trees in the...
. Ferns and flowers abound here, including the American bell flower, crimson catchfly, butterfly weed
Butterfly weed
Asclepias tuberosa is a species of milkweed native to eastern North America. It is a perennial plant growing to tall, with clustered orange or yellow flowers from early summer to early fall. The leaves are spirally arranged, lanceolate, 5–12 cm long and 2–3 cm broad.This plant favors...
, cardinal flower, blue lobelia, phlox
Phlox
Phlox is a genus of 67 species of perennial and annual plants found mostly in North America in diverse habitats from alpine tundra to open woodland and prairie. Some flower in spring, others in summer and autumn....
, verbena
Verbena
Verbena , verbenas or vervains, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 250 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the New World from Canada south to southern Chile, but some are also native in the Old...
, wild hydrangea, hibiscus
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...
, aster and yellow jasmine. The low-lying areas around the ridge were once much swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
ier, and the ridge provided a natural and more healthful place for settlers to establish homes. The ridge became a natural north-south communications link for the region, since travel along the ridge was much easier than through the swampy lowlands.
Fossils
This region adjacent to the ridge is covered with thick deltaic soils and few fossilFossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s are found except in gravel pits. These pits sometimes reveal the teeth of large mastodons, mammoths and horses which roamed the continent as recently as 10,000 years ago. Crowley's Ridge contains important exposures of fossiliferous Tertiary sediments and contains the only documented Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
exposures in the state. A silicified
Petrifaction
In geology, petrifaction, petrification or silicification is the process by which organic material is converted into stone by impregnation with silica. It is a rare form of fossilization...
conifer stump weighing several tons was unearthed near Wittsburg, and many more were found around Piggott
Piggott, Arkansas
Piggott, Arkansas is a city in Clay County, Arkansas, one of that county's two seats . It is also the northern terminus of the Arkansas segment of Crowley's Ridge Parkway. As of the 2000 census, Piggott's population was 3,894. The town was founded by William N...
. Mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
bones were found within the city limits of Helena
Helena, Arkansas
Helena is the eastern portion of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, this portion of the city population was 6,323. Helena was the county seat of Phillips County until January 1, 2006, when it merged its government and city limits with...
at the southern end of the ridge. Near Forrest City
Forrest City, Arkansas
Forrest City is a city in and the county seat of St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States. It was named for General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who used the location as a campsite for a construction crew completing a railroad between Memphis and Little Rock, shortly after the Civil War. The...
, in the bed of Crow Creek, a deposit of oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
shells estimated to be nearly 7,000,000 cubic yards in size was discovered.
Namesake
Crowley's Ridge is named after Benjamin Crowley (1758–1842), the first settler of the Ridge near Paragould, ArkansasParagould, Arkansas
-Health & Education:Paragould is home to Arkansas State University Paragould, Arkansas Northeastern College, Black River Technical College, and Crowley's Ridge College. Paragould has two public school districts, the Greene County Technical School District and the Paragould School District, as well...
. Crowley is buried in the Shiloh Cemetery in Greene County, Arkansas, and a monument marks the spot. The cemetery is part of Crowley's Ridge State Park
Crowley's Ridge State Park
Crowley's Ridge State Park is a state park in northeastern Arkansas managed by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.Crowley's Ridge State Park is located at the former homesite of the original settler of the area, Benjamin Crowley...
; next to Crowley's grave other early settlers of the ridge are buried in unmarked graves.
External links
- Crowley's Ridge, USGS GNIS page