Boston Mountains

Boston Mountains ecoregion
Boston Mountains ecoregion
	View from Steel Creek Overlook on the Buffalo National River
	Level III ecoregions in the region, with the Boston Mountains ecoregion marked as (38) (full map)
Ecology
Borders	Ozark Highlands (39); Arkansas Valley (37); Central Irregular Plains (40);
Geography
Area	14,190 km2 (5,480 sq mi)
Country	United States
States	Arkansas; Oklahoma;
Coordinates	35°47′28″N 93°6′24″W / 35.79111°N 93.10667°W
Climate type	Humid subtropical (Cwa)

The Boston Mountains is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Part of the Ozarks, the Boston Mountains are a deeply dissected plateau. The ecoregion is steeper than the adjacent Springfield Plateau to the north, and bordered on the south by the Arkansas Valley. The Oklahoma portion of the range is locally referred to as the Cookson Hills. There are several theories of how the mountains were named, though apparently none are related to the Massachusetts city.^[1]

The Boston Mountains ecoregion has been subdivided into two Level IV ecoregions.^[2]^[3]

Description

The ecoregion is mountainous, forested, and underlain by Pennsylvanian sandstone, shale, and siltstone. It is one of the Ozark Plateaus; some folding and faulting has occurred but, in general, strata are much less deformed than in the Ouachita Mountains. Maximum elevations are higher, soils have a warmer temperature regime, and carbonate rocks are much less extensive than in the Ozark Highlands. Physiography is distinct from the Arkansas Valley. Upland soils are mostly Ultisols that developed under oak-hickory and oak-hickory-pine forests. Today, forests are still widespread; northern red oak, southern red oak, white oak, and hickories usually dominate the uplands, but shortleaf pine grows on drier, south- and west-facing slopes underlain by sandstone. Pastureland or hayland occur on nearly level ridgetops, benches, and valley floors. Population density is low; recreation, logging, and livestock farming are the primary land uses. Water quality in streams is generally exceptional; biochemical, nutrient, and mineral water quality parameter concentrations all tend to be very low. Fish communities are mostly composed of sensitive species; a diverse, often darter-dominated community occurs along with nearly equal proportions of minnows and sunfishes. During low flows, streams usually run clear but, during high flow conditions, turbidity in the Boston Mountains tends to be greater than in the Ouachitas. Summer flow in many small streams is limited or non-existent but isolated, enduring pools may occur.^[2]

Geology and physiography

Boston Range spanning northwestern Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma

The Boston Mountains are a physiographic section of the larger Ozark Plateaus province, which in turn is part of the larger Interior Highlands physiographic division.^[4]

The area is underlain by Pennsylvanian sandstone, shale, and siltstone, where some folding and faulting has occurred.^[5] The sandstone beds become thinner with higher shale content in the west as the mountains decline in elevation.^[6]

The range covers an area of 5,770 square miles (14,900 km²).^[7] The rocks of the region are essentially little disturbed, flat-lying sedimentary layers of the Paleozoic age. The highest ridges and peaks are capped by Pennsylvanian sandstone and shale. The deeply eroded valleys are cut into Mississippian limestones and below that layer Ordovician dolomites.

General description

The Boston Mountains form the southwestern part of the Ozark plateau where they are the highest portion of the Ozarks. Summits can reach elevations of just over 2,560 feet (780 m) with valleys 500 feet (150 m) to 1,550 feet (470 m) deep. Wahzhazhe Summit (formerly known as Buffalo Lookout), is the highest point in the Ozarks at 2,561 feet (781 m), and is located in the Boston Mountains, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) east of Pettigrew, Newton County, Arkansas, at N35.8637°, W093.4931°. Wahzhazhe is the Osage people’s name for themselves in the Dhegiha Siouan language. Turner Ward Knob (TWK) is the second highest named peak, 2.2 miles (3.5 km) east of Wahzhazhe Summit. Located in western Newton County, Arkansas, its elevation is 2,463 feet (751 m). Nearby, four other unnamed peaks have elevations at or slightly above 2,560 feet (780 m).^[8] The other three highest peaks are located 4–5 miles (6.4–8.0 km) south-southwest of Turner Ward Knob along Arkansas Highway 16.^[8]^[9]^[10]

Rivers and streams

The Boston Mountains are the source of rivers and streams that flow out from the mountains in all directions. Within a 3 miles (4,800 m) radius of a point just west of the summits discussed above are located the sources of the White River, the Buffalo River, the Kings River, War Eagle Creek, and Little Mulberry Creek. Other rivers and streams having their headwaters in the Boston Mountains include the Illinois River, the Mulberry River, Lee Creek, Frog Bayou, Big Piney Creek, Illinois Bayou, and the Little Red River. To the south, the Arkansas River valley separates the Boston Mountains from the Ouachita Mountains.

In Arkansas, the Boston Mountains are found in the following counties: Boone, Carroll, Cleburne, Conway, Crawford, Franklin, Independence, Johnson, Madison, Newton, Pope, Searcy, Stone, Van Buren, and Washington.

In Oklahoma, the Boston Mountains are found in these counties: Adair, Cherokee, Muskogee, Sequoyah, and Wagoner.

Gallery

Landscapes

Buffalo Wilderness
View from Hawksbill Crag
Looking east on Gaither Mountain from AR 43. The plateau of the Boston Mountains is clearly visible on the right.
Buffalo River from river trail overlook near Steel Creek in the Boston Mountains
Low Gap community in the Boston Mountains
White Rock Mountain

References

^ Arkansas’ Boston Mountains
^ ^a ^b This article incorporates public domain material from Woods, AJ; Foti, TL; Chapman, SS; Omernik, JM; et al. Ecoregions of Arkansas (PDF). United States Geological Survey. (color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs).
^ This article incorporates public domain material from Woods, A.J., Omernik, J.M., Butler, D.R., Ford, J.G., Henley, J.E., Hoagland, B.W., Arndt, D.S., and Moran, B.C. Ecoregions of Oklahoma (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved January 18, 2018.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs).
^ "Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U. S." U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
^ "Designing A Future For Arkansas Wildlife". State of Arkansas. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
^ Bowman, Isaiah (1911). Forest Physiography: Physiography of the United States and Principles of Soils in Relation to Forestry. J. Wiley & sons. p. 453. ISBN 9780405026591. boston mountains physiography.
^ Gromadzki, Gregory and Richard Marston. "Boston Mountains". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Accessed September 27, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Fallsville, Arkansas, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1967
^ Boston, Arkansas, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1973
^ [NAD83 geographic coordinates for TWK are N35.8631°, W093.4544°. Coordinates for the four unnamed highest peaks are N35.8607°, W093.4935°; N35.8151°, W093.4968°; N35.8126°, W093.4984°; and N35.7990°, W093.5005°]

External links

[1] Arkansas’ Boston Mountains

[ark4-2] This article incorporates public domain material from Woods, AJ; Foti, TL; Chapman, SS; Omernik, JM; et al. Ecoregions of Arkansas (PDF). United States Geological Survey. (color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs).

[ok4-3] This article incorporates public domain material from Woods, A.J., Omernik, J.M., Butler, D.R., Ford, J.G., Henley, J.E., Hoagland, B.W., Arndt, D.S., and Moran, B.C. Ecoregions of Oklahoma (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved January 18, 2018.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs).

[USGS-Water-4] "Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U. S." U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2007-12-06.

[5] "Designing A Future For Arkansas Wildlife". State of Arkansas. Retrieved 2007-12-30.

[6] Bowman, Isaiah (1911). Forest Physiography: Physiography of the United States and Principles of Soils in Relation to Forestry. J. Wiley & sons. p. 453. ISBN 9780405026591. boston mountains physiography.

[EOHC-BostonMts-7] Gromadzki, Gregory and Richard Marston. "Boston Mountains". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Accessed September 27, 2016.

[Fallsville-8] Fallsville, Arkansas, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1967

[9] Boston, Arkansas, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1973

[10] [NAD83 geographic coordinates for TWK are N35.8631°, W093.4544°. Coordinates for the four unnamed highest peaks are N35.8607°, W093.4935°; N35.8151°, W093.4968°; N35.8126°, W093.4984°; and N35.7990°, W093.5005°]

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v t e Level III Ecoregions in the United States
Marine West Coast Forest	1 Coast Range 2 Puget Lowland 3 Willamette Valley 111 Ahklun and Kilbuck Mountains 113 Alaska Peninsula Mountains 115 Cook Inlet 119 Pacific Coastal Mountains 120 Coastal Western Hemlock-Sitka Spruce Forests
Northwestern Forested Mountains	4 Cascades 5 Sierra Nevada 9 Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills 11 Blue Mountains 15 Northern Rockies 16 Idaho Batholith 17 Middle Rockies 19 Wasatch and Uinta Mountains 21 Southern Rockies 41 Canadian Rockies 77 North Cascades 78 Klamath Mountains 105 Interior Highlands 116 Alaska Range 117 Copper Plateau 118 Wrangell Mountains
Mediterranean California	6 Southern and Central California Chaparral and Oak Woodlands 7 Central California Valley 8 Southern California Mountains
North American Deserts	10 Columbia Plateau 12 Snake River Plain 13 Central Basin and Range 14 Mojave Basin and Range 18 Wyoming Basin 20 Colorado Plateaus 22 Arizona/New Mexico Plateau 24 Chihuahuan Deserts 80 Northern Basin and Range 81 Sonoran Basin and Range
Temperate Sierras	23 Arizona/New Mexico Mountains
Great Plains	25 Western High Plains 26 Southwestern Tablelands 27 Central Great Plains 28 Flint Hills 29 Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains (Cross Timbers) 30 Edwards Plateau 31 Southern Texas Plains 34 Western Gulf Coastal Plain 40 Central Irregular Plains 42 Northwestern Glaciated Plains 43 Northwestern Great Plains 44 Nebraska Sand Hills 45 Piedmont 46 Northern Glaciated Plains 47 Western Corn Belt Plains 48 Lake Agassiz Plain
Eastern Temperate Forest	32 Texas Blackland Prairies 33 East Central Texas Plains 35 South Central Plains 36 Ouachita Mountains 37 Arkansas Valley 38 Boston Mountains 39 Ozark Highlands 51 North Central Hardwood Forests 52 Driftless Area 53 Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains 54 Central Corn Belt Plains 55 Eastern Corn Belt Plains 56 Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains 57 Huron/Erie Lake Plains 59 Northeastern Coastal Zone 60 Northern Appalachian Plateau and Uplands 61 Erie Drift Plain 63 Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain 64 Northern Piedmont 65 Southeastern Plains 66 Blue Ridge 67 Ridge and Valley 68 Southwestern Appalachians 69 Central Appalachians 70 Western Allegheny Plateau 71 Interior Plateau 72 Interior River Valleys and Hills 73 Mississippi Alluvial Plain 74 Mississippi Valley Loess Plains 75 Southern Coastal Plain 82 Laurentian Plains and Hills 83 Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands 84 Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens
Northern Forests	49 Northern Minnesota Wetlands 50 Northern Lakes and Forests 58 Northeastern Highlands 62 North Central Appalachians
Tropical Wet Forests	76 Southern Florida Coastal Plain
Southern Semi-Arid Highlands	79 Madrean Archipelago
Taiga	101 Arctic Coastal Plain 102 Arctic Foothills 103 Brooks Range 104 Interior Forested Lowlands and Uplands 106 Interior Bottomlands 107 Yukon Flats 108 Ogilvie Mountains
Tundra	109 Subarctic Coastal Plains 110 Seward Peninsula 112 Bristol Bay-Nushagak Lowlands 114 Aleutian Islands
as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency [1]

v t e Level III Ecoregions in Arkansas
Southeastern Plains	35 South Central Plains
Ozark, Ouachita, Appalachian Forests	36 Ouachita Mountains 37 Arkansas Valley 38 Boston Mountains 39 Ozark Highlands
Mississippi Alluvial and Southeast USA Coastal Plains	73 Mississippi Alluvial Plain 74 Mississippi Valley Loess Plains
as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency [2]

v t e Mountains of Arkansas
Ouachita Mountains	Mount Magazine
Ozarks	Three Brothers
Others	Boston Mountains Glazypeau Mountain Mount Nebo Petit Jean Pinnacle Mountain Rich Mountain Shinall Mountain Sugarloaf Mountain U.S. Interior Highlands
Arkansas portal • Mountains portal