Geography of Arkansas - Location and Size

Location and Size

Arkansas is located in the southeastern United States, in the West South Central Census Bureau division. Arkansas covers an area of 53,179 square miles (137,733 km²) and ranks as the 29th largest state by size. The state borders six U.S. states: Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi across the Mississippi River to the east, Louisiana to the south, Oklahoma to the west, and Texas to the southwest.

First added to the United States of America as part of the Louisiana Territory of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Arkansas later became part of the Missouri Territory upon its establishment in 1812. This was further divided into the Arkansaw Territory on March 2, 1819 as everything south of Parallel 36°30′ north (except the Missouri Bootheel) to the Louisiana state line. This new territory also included most of present-day Oklahoma until gaining its current boundaries in the 1840s. The slight oddity in Arkansas's western boundary results from a dispute with the Choctaw Nation in 1824. The Choctaws wanted the western boundary of Arkansas to start 100 paces east of Fort Smith and run south to the Red River, claiming the land had little timber and poor soil. Despite protests from Henry Conway, President James Monroe signed the bill into law on January 20, 1825.