Arkansas State Facts, Symbols and History

Arkansas Fast Facts

Capital: Little Rock (pop. 187,452) (2008 est.)

Arkansas Population: 2,949,131 ( 2012 est.) (32nd)

The Arkansas Quarter is the fifth and final quarter, released in 2003, honors Arkansas and 25th in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program. Arkansas was admitted to the Union on June 15, 1836, becoming our Nation’s 25th State. Referred to as “State of Nature,” the Arkansas quarter depicts its natural resources of clear streams, splits and lakes. Arkansas is also known for its sportmanship, the largest rice producer in the United States and is home to the oldest diamond mine in North America, the design features rice stalks, a diamond and a wild duck flying above a lake.

The coin bears the inscriptions “Arkansas” and “1836”.

Language: English, others

Largest Cities: (by population) Little Rock, Fort Smith, North Little Rock, Fayetteville, Jonesboro, Pine Bluff

Name: Arkansas from the Indian Sioux (Quapaw), the word “acansa” meaning “downstream places” or “south wind”.

Statehood: June 15, 1836 (25th state)

Arkansas symbols

• Animal: white-tailed deer
• Bird: mockingbird
• Flag of Arkansas
• Flower: apple blossom
• Motto: “Regnat Populus” (“people rule”)
• Nicknames: (most used) Natural state; Land of Opportunity; ridge state
• Song: “Arkansas”
• State seal
• Wood: pine

Arkansas – state in the south of the United States, belongs to the group of states of the Southwestern Center. The population is 2,937,979 people (32nd among US states, 2011 data). The capital and largest city is Little Rock. There are no other major cities. See cities and towns in Arkansas.

The official nickname is the Natural State.

The area of Arkansas is 137.8 thousand km (29th among the states). The state is bordered to the south by Louisiana, to the west by Texas and Oklahoma, to the east by Illinois and Mississippi, and to the north by Missouri.

The first Europeans to explore the territory of Arkansas were members of the expedition of Hernando De Soto (1541). The first settlers in the state were the French, later the British and Germans. From the 16th to the beginning of the 19th century, Spain and France disputed the territory of Arkansas from each other.

After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the territory was annexed to the United States. On June 15, 1836, Arkansas became part of the union state as a slave state (25th in a row). After the Civil War, it was readmitted to the United States (1868) over a veto by President Andrew Johnson.

• AbbreviationFinder: Demonstrates how the two-letter acronym of AR stands for Arkansas and a list of frequently used abbreviations related to the state of Arkansas.

In 2003, the state’s GDP amounted to $76 billion. Arkansas, the country’s leading state in the production of rice, soybeans, broiler chickens, also produces about 10% of all cotton in the country. The food industry is developed, there is the production of electrical equipment and auto parts. Among the minerals, the most important place is occupied by the extraction of bauxite.

Significant population growth in Arkansas began in the 1940s. Now about 83% of the state’s population is white, 16% – African-Americans. About 13 thousand Indians live in the state. The fastest growing ethnic group are Asians. The main denomination is Protestants (mainly Baptists and Methodists).