Crowley's Ridge

Question 1

A

Answer 1

It ranges in width from one to twelve miles and extends from southern Missouri across eastern Arkansas to Helena-West Helena (Phillips County).

Question 2

B

Answer 2

It is made up of a continuous series of rolling hills except for a slight break at Marianna (Lee County); this break or gap was created by the L’Anguille River as it flowed across the ridge.

Question 3

C

Answer 3

The ridge received its name from Benjamin Crowley, the first white settler to reach the area near present-day Paragould (Greene County), sometime around 1820.

Question 4

D

Answer 4

Also of note is that the Civil War Skirmish at Chalk Bluff was fought on Crowley’s Ridge on May 1–2, 1863. The Chalk Bluff Natural Area in Clay County commemorates this event.

Question 5

E

Answer 5

Completely surrounded by the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, is clearly visible because it rises some 250 feet above a relatively flat landscape.

Question 6

F

Answer 6

The ridge is capped by a deep layer of wind-deposited (loessial) soils, a fine-grained soil created millions of years ago as glaciers moved across the continent.

Question 7

H

Answer 7

Crowley’s Ridge is a popular tourist destination, with state parks including Crowley’s Ridge State Park at Walcott (Greene County), which occupies the former homestead and the grave site of Benjamin Crowley; Village Creek State Park near Wynne; Lake Poinsett State Park; and Lake Frierson State Park. These and other parks, including the Forrest L. Wood Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center in Jonesboro, allow visitors to experience the distinctive character of this unique natural region

Question 8

I

Answer 8

Arkansas State University-Jonesboro is located within this region.