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Aligns with standards G.10.3.1, G.8.3.2, G.9.3.1,
G.9.3.3, G.11.3.1 and H.12.3.3 for third grade Social
Studies. Created 10/15.
Cover photo by Keith Weller (1).
http://www.arkansasheritage.com
Vocabulary
natural resources
timber
export
Materials found in nature
The wood of a tree
To send to other places
settlers
People who moved into a
new home in a new place
crater
mining
A hole in the ground with
raised sides around it
Digging in the earth to get the natural resources there
Conversation
Fun fact: Forests cover
over half of the state
(54%)! (2)
Imagine that you were stranded in the woods
in Arkansas. What do we have around us that could be
useful to survive?
If you were going to make the first city in Arkansas, where would you want to
build it? Why?
Why were wild animals important to Native Americans and early settlers?
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Trash Art
It is important not to waste our natural resources. Many things can be
recycled and reused. Gather some
(clean) trash for a week, such as old
newspapers or plastic food containers that have been cleaned out.
Use the trash to create 3-D art of
Arkansas. You could create a state
symbol, a place you enjoy in Arkansas, or the state of Arkansas itself!
A fish made of trash collected from the ocean.
We use natural resources to make items we use everyday. What natural resources
can you think of? What man-made resources?
Man-made Resources
Natural Resources
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Photo by James St. John (3)
Have you ever played a computer, video or
board game where you have to find resources to build something? In games like
Minecraft, you have to collect natural resources to build and survive. Native Americans collected Arkansas’s many natural resources long before Arkansas became a
state, and we still use our natural resources
to build and survive today.
Water and Soil
Native Americans lived along the rivers in
Arkansas. The Caddo Indians lived around
the Red River because the land around water usually has good soil for growing crops.
The Quapaws lived around the Mississippi,
White and Arkansas rivers because of the
good soil.
springs. Later the springs became a tourist
spot. The water can reach up to 147 degrees
Fahrenheit! There are good minerals in the
water that people used to get healthy.
In the 1600s, white settlers came to begin
life in Arkansas. People first settled along
the Mississippi River because they used the
river like a road for boats. Water also provided fish and water for crops. Cities like Little Rock, Fort Smith and Pine Bluff are examples of old cities that depended on the Arkansas River.
Plants
There are many trees in Arkansas. At first,
this made it hard for people to settle in Arkansas. It took a lot of energy to clear the
trees for farming, and the trees made it hard
to travel. After the Civil War, however, timber
became an important export. Trees helped
build railroads and buildings not only in Arkansas, but across the United States. Many
Native Americans also used the state’s hot
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people moved to Arkansas to sell trees, and today it is still an important business.
Fun fact: Bromine is a
brownish-red liquid
that does not smell
very good.
Cotton, soybeans, and rice all grow very well
in the Mississippi Delta. The Quapaw grew
squash and corn as well.
Animals
The Osage Indians were hunters in Northwest
Arkansas. Arkansas is home to many kinds of animals, such as deer, duck, turkeys, beavers, raccoons, squirrels, foxes, bears, opossums and
many kinds of fish. The animal skins were also
used for clothing. The abundant sources of animals helped the Native Americans and early
settlers have food and clothing.
Fossil Fuels
as much oil is drilled now, but it is still important to our state.
The Fayetteville Shale is a natural-gasproducing field that runs along the Arkansas
River Valley all the way to the Mississippi
River. It is a recent discovery, and is one of
the 10 largest gas fields in the United States.
Other Minerals and Rocks
From 1900 to 1990, bauxite was an imArkansas is the home to many fossil fuels. Coal portant mineral found in Arkansas. Bauxite is
is found along the Arkansas River. Coal mining
used to create things such as soda cans and
brought many people into Arkansas in the early tin foil (all made out of aluminum). It is our
1900s. There isn’t as much coal now, and it is not state rock. Many people moved to Central
as important to business today.
Arkansas to mine bauxite in the 1900s.
By the Numbers
(in the United States)

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







#1 rice
#1 poultry
# 5 sorghum grain
#6 cotton
#8 grapes
#8 soybeans
#1 bauxite
#1 quartz crystal
#1 silica stone
#1 in the world: bromine
Ten counties
in southern Arkansas produce oil. In the
1920s, there
was an oil
boom. People
got a lot of oil
from the
ground, which
means many
people moved
to south Arkansas to
work in the oil
business. Not
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Salt is another important mineral. The
Caddo Indians had one of the first largescale businesses in Arkansas by making and
trading salt they got along the Ouachita River.
Bromine is found in the same area as the
oil fields. Bromine is used in things from hair
products, to keeping water in swimming pools
clean, to keep things from catching on fire.
Arkansas produces more bromine than any
other place in the world!
These natural resources have helped make
our state what it is today. Keep reading to
find out how it has affected our land. (4,5)
Natural Resource of AR
Fill in the map. Your key can be drawing or 3-D symbols.
natural
cotton
gas
rice
oil
bauxite
diamonds
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water
Write it out
What natural resources do you have in or near your town? Draw a picture of those natural resources and write about why they are important.
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A Closer Look
Photo by David Wright (6)
West Gulf Coastal Plain
also now have areas across the state that are
protected so no trees can be cut down to
make sure the state always has forests.
When people started building cities in Arkansas, they were attracted to this area because of the Red River and the plants that
could grow there. The West Gulf Coastal
Plain is covered in forests of pine trees.
When cities in the northern United States
needed wood for their cities and railroads,
they came to Arkansas to get trees. Once all
the trees were gone, people moved into the
fields and tried to make the land into farms.
Unlike the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, however,
the land would not produce the crops that
made the most money, like cotton. So there
were no trees and no crops.
The West Gulf Coastal Plain is also the
source of mined natural resources, such as
bauxite, coal and oil. These resources were in
high demand in the 1900s, and brought a lot
of people to the area for jobs. They got
these rocks and minerals from “surface mining,” where machines remove all the soil on
top of the minerals, then another machine
mines the minerals. This can leave behind
large areas of unusable land. We need to be
careful about how often we do this to balance getting the materials we need and protecting the earth. Now, minerals like bauxite,
coal and oil are rarely mined in Arkansas,
but natural gas may become a large business.
Having no trees is not good for the environment. For example, when there were no
more trees, animals like the red-cockaded
woodpecker couldn’t be found anymore.
Many animals and plants lost their home.
Mississippi Alluvial Plain (Delta)
When people first began to live in Arkansas, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain was full of
wild prairies and forests. The Mississippi River
often flooded, which made it hard to travel in
the area, and the swampy conditions made it
People then realized they could plant
more trees, but this time they had to manage
it better to save the business, plants and animals. Now a lot of this area is owned by
people who manage the timber business. We
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hard for people to live there, so for a long
time the region remained the same.
of the state lost some of the wealth and power it once had.
The floods, however, meant the soil was very
good for growing crops. In the late 1700s
people cleared the forests and kept the prairies from flooding in order to grow more food
and cotton. This region became very rich, but
it was at the cost of many slaves used for labor. When the slaves were freed, this region
Today 90% of the forests have been
cleared, and this area is still the part of the
state where the most crops are grown. Many
of the areas known as “wetlands,” have been
drained for crops. Some wetlands and prairies are protected in order to save the animals and plants that live there. (4,5)
Fill in the chart with some things that are different from then and now in Arkansas.
Then
Now
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Diamonds
Photo by Koshy Koshy (7)
Did you know the largest diamond found in
the United States was from Arkansas? In
1924, the “Uncle Sam” diamond was discovered in the Crater of Diamonds State Park. It
was 40.23 carats, or over 8 grams: one large
diamond!
In 1906, a
farmer
named John
Huddleston
found two diamonds. The
area became
a state park
in 1972, so
anyone could
come and
mine for diamonds. If you
find a diamond, you get to keep it!
Diamonds are one of the most valuable
materials found on Earth. Arkansas is one of
the few states where diamonds have been
found, and the only state where people can
find diamonds today. Diamonds are used in
more than jewelry; they are the hardest natural material on Earth, and are used to cut
and drill other hard surfaces.
Diamonds in Arkansas go all the way back
to a 95-million year old volcano. Diamonds
are formed from very high temperatures and
pressure, such as is found in the area below
the Earth’s surface, called the mantle. A volcanic explosion brought up materials from the
mantle. When it exploded, the volcano created a crater, and the materials from the mantle settled in this crater, including diamonds.
Nashville News (8)
Diamonds in the ground do not look like the
diamonds we see in jewelry. Diamonds may
be white, brown or yellow. Diamonds get their
shine by the way they are cut; when they are
found in the ground, they may look a little
cloudy and will be shaped like a small rock.
Our state flag has the shape of a diamond
to show we are a diamond-producing state.
You can also find diamonds on our license
plates of cars and on the state quarter of Arkansas. It is also our state gem! To learn more
about Arkansas diamonds, visit
craterofdiamondsstatepark.com.
Fun fact: In 2014, 585
diamonds were found
at the Crater of Diamonds State Park. (9)
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Let’s Cook
Follow the directions to make
some yummy Arkansas rice!
Ingredients:

1 cup of medium- or longgrained rice (white or brown)

2 cups of water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon of butter or
olive oil
Directions
1) Get a bag of rice. Arkansas rice includes brands such as Riceland Foods, Inc.; Windmill Rice
Company; Producers Rice Mill Inc. and Specialty Rice, Inc.
2) Bring the water to boil in a saucepan. Rice expands, so make sure you get a big enough pot!
3) Add the rice, salt and butter. Lower the heat to where the water is barely boiling, called a
simmer.
4) Cover the pot, put the heat on low, and let the rice cook for about 15 minutes.
5) Turn off the heat and let the rice sit (covered) for 5 minutes.
6) Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.
7) Enjoy your delicious food!
Go See It: Arkansas Museum
of Natural Resources
The Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover, Arkansas, tells the story of how Smackover became
the leading oil field in the United States for a time in
the 1920s. The museum also tells about bromine, and
shows how 95% of the products we use daily are made
from oil and brine. The museum is free, so check it out!
Picture from Arkansas State Parks.
http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/museumofnaturalresources/
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More resources

Learn about the natural regions of Arkansas: http://www.naturalheritage.com/Education/ecoregionsnatural-divisions-of-arkansas

Lean about native Arkansas plants, animals and regions:
http://www.naturalheritage.com/Education/education

Learn more about the Mississippi Delta and its resources:
http://www.deltaculturalcenter.com/Learn/education-resources

Learn more about the geology of Arkansas, including kits containing quartz and bauxite:
http://www.geology.arkansas.gov/education/education_home.htm

Fun facts about natural resources in Arkansas: http://www.arkansas.com/kids/fun-facts/

Learn more about preserving Arkansas’s resources:
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/arkansas/

Lesson plans on many natural resources:
http://www.agfc.com/education/justForEducators/Pages/lessonPlans.aspx

Mapping biodiversity lesson plan: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/activity/mappingbiodiversity/

Reading a resource map lesson plan: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/activity/readingresource-map/
Sources
1) Weller, Keith. K7577-1. 2013. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Flickr. Web. Oct. 2015.
2) "Fun Facts." Facts about Arkansas. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. <http://www.arkansas.com/kids/fun-facts/>.
3) St. John, James. Pisolitic Bauxite (Arkansas, USA) 1. 2015. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Flickr. Web. Oct. 2015.
4) Foti, Thomas L. 3rd ed. “The Natural Divisions of Arkansas”.: Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, 2008. Print.
5) Paradise, Tom. Arkansas: An Illustrated Atlas. Fayetteville: Univ Of Arkansas, 2012. Print.
6) Wright, David. Roadside Timber Stack. 2011. Croxton, England. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Flickr. Web. Oct. 2015.
7) Koshy, Koshy. Diamond on Blue. 2010. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Flickr. Web. Oct. 2015.
8) Unknown. Diamond Mines of Arkansas Supplement Nashville News 1906. 1906. American Museum of Natural History: The
Nature of Diamonds. Web.
9) "Diamond Statistics." Diamond Statistics. Crater of Diamonds State Park, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. <http://
www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/media/diamond-statistics.aspx>.
Allison Reavis
Education Coordinator
[email protected]
501-324-9346
www.arkansasheritage.com
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