Ouachita Mountains

The Ouachita Mountains (/ˈwɒʃᵻtɔː/ WOSH-i-taw) are a mountain range in west central Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. The range's subterranean roots may extend as far as central Texas, or beyond it to the current location of the Marathon Uplift. Along with the Ozark Mountains, the Ouachita Mountains form the U.S. Interior Highlands, one of the few major mountainous regions between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains. The highest peak in the Ouachitas is Mount Magazine in west-central Arkansas which rises to 2,753 feet (839 m).

Etymology

R. Harlan claimed that the word Ouachita is composed of two Choctaw words: ouac, a buffalo, and chito, large. It means the country of large buffaloes, numerous herds of the American bison having formerly covered the prairies of Ouachita.

According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, the name comes from the French spelling of the Caddo word washita, meaning "good hunting grounds."

Geology and physiography

The Ouachita Mountains are a physiographic section of the larger Ouachita province (which includes both the Ouachita Mountains and the Arkansas Valley), which in turn is part of the larger Interior Highlands physiographic division.