White River Planning and Development District
The White River region encompasses 6,637 square miles or approximately 12.8 percent of the total land area of the State of Arkansas and has a population 237,844 persons. The White River District is a rural area in a rural State in an urban nation.
The District is a land of contrasts. The White River, which is the major focal point of the region, passes through rugged hills covered with oak, maple, hickory, ash and southern pine, fed by cold, clear mountain springs and streams, to the flatlands characterized by rich farm land growing rice and soybeans and highly complex wetlands of the Cache and Black Rivers and Bayou Deview.
The eastern counties of the District lie in the broad, flat alluvial plains of the Gulf Coast Plain. This area is characterized by extensive agricultural activities. The remaining counties of the District lie within the Ozark Plateaus of the Interior Highlands physiographic region. Here are the proverbial “hills” which maintain a folk culture and a way of life in sharp contrast to modern urban America, a place where the regional and national heritage is still alive. The Arkansas Ozarks boast some of the finest tourist attractions in the mid-south including Blanchard Springs Caverns, the Ozark Folk Center and Greers Ferry Lake. These attractions along with the many parks and campsites make the hill counties the perfect vacation and retirement country.