For the former department store, see Crowley's. Crowley Milner and Company, generally referred to as Crowley's, was a Department store chain that was founded in Detroit Michigan in the early 1900s

Crowley's Ridge runs through the Mississippi embayment in this shaded-relief map. The Mississippi embayment is a physiographic feature in the south-central United States, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain.

Crowley's Ridge (also Crowleys Ridge) is an unusual geological formation that rises 250 to 550 feet above the alluvial plain of the Mississippi embayment in a 150 mile line from southeastern Missouri to the Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas. An alluvial plain is a relatively flat Landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more Rivers coming from highland regions The Mississippi embayment is a physiographic feature in the south-central United States, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to Helena-West Helena is the County seat of and the largest city within Phillips County, Arkansas. It is the most prominent feature in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain between Cape Girardeau, Missouri and the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain is an Alluvial plain created by the Mississippi River on which lies parts of seven states from southern Louisiana The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world This narrow rolling hill region rising above the flat plain is the sixth, and smallest, natural division of the state of Arkansas. Arkansas ( is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Most of the major cities of the Arkansas Delta region lie along Crowley's Ridge. The Arkansas Delta is one of the natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Crowley's Ridge received its name from Benjamin Crowley, the first European settler to reach the area (near present day Paragould, Arkansas) sometime around 1820. Benjamin Crowley II was born circa 1758 in Halifax County Virginia. Paragould is a city in Greene County, Arkansas, United States.

Composition and origin

The ridge is primarily composed of windblown sediment known as loess. Loess is a homogeneous typically non stratified porous Friable,slightly coherent often calcareous fine-grained Silty pale yellow or buff windblown ( aeolian The area contrasts greatly with the flat table land around it and with the black alluvial soil that makes up the delta. It varies from half a mile to 12 miles wide and reaches an altitude of 550 feet near its northern extremity. The formation is generally thought to have originally been an island between the Mississippi River and Ohio River that became a long low hilly ridge after the rivers changed course millions of years ago. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to The Ohio River is the largest Tributary by volume of the Mississippi River. Recent research, however, questions the fluvial origin. There is evidence that the area's elevation has increased over the years, suggesting that uplift took place and is still taking place. This alternative explanation posits a link between the ridge and the nearby New Madrid Seismic Zone. This article is about the seismic zone in southeastern Missouri ^[1]

Soils and vegetation

The flora and fauna of the ridge seem more closely related to the Tennessee hills to the east than to the Ozark Mountains to the west. Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. This unique habitat has resulted in the establishment of several state and city parks, a national forest, recreational lakes, and the nation's newest scenic byway, the Crowley's Ridge Parkway. ^[2][3]

The soils in this area are moderately fertile and sometimes rich. The land is moderately rugged which does not foster row-crop agriculture. These soils are also easily eroded. There is some commercial agriculture in the loessal plains area of the ridge. The ridge is surrounded by the fertile lands of the delta region. The vegetation is predominantly oak and hickory forests, similar to vegetation found in the Appalachian Mountains. The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin Trees in the genus Carya (from Ancient Greek κάρυον " Nut " are commonly known as Hickory. The Appalachian Mountains ( often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. An example is the tulip tree (a yellow poplar) and the American beech. "Tulip tree" redirects here For the African tulip tree see Spathodea campanulata. The American Beech Fagus grandifolia is a species of Beech native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario Ferns and flowers abound here, including the American bell flower, crimson catchfly, butterfly weed, cardinal flower, blue lobelia, phlox, verbena, wild hydrangea, hibiscus, aster and yellow jasmine. Butterfly weed ( Asclepias tuberosa, also called Canada root, Chigger flower, Chiggerflower, Fluxroot, Indian paintbrush Lobelia cardinalis ( Cardinal Flower) is a species of Lobelia native to the Americas, from southeastern Canada Phlox (pronounced /flɒks/ or "flocks" from the Latin for a flame-colored flower which is from the Greek φλόξ meaning 'flame' plural "phlox" This article is about the plant of genus Verbena. For other plants called "verbenas" see below. Hibiscus, or rosemallow, is a large genus of about 200&ndash220 species of Flowering plants in the family Malvaceae (the mallow family The low-lying areas around the ridge were once much swampier, and the ridge provided a natural and more healthful place for settlers to establish homes. A swamp is a Wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water The ridge became a natural north-south communications link for the region, since travel along the ridge was much easier than through the swampy lowlands. ^[4]

Fossils

This region adjacent to the ridge is covered with thick deltaic soils and few fossils are found except in gravel pits. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. These pits sometimes reveal the teeth of large mastodons, mammoths and horses which roamed the continent as recently as 10,000 years ago. Crowley's Ridge contains important exposures of fossiliferous Tertiary sediments and contains the only documented Miocene exposures in the state. The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23 A silicified conifer stump weighing several tons was unearthed near Wittsburg, and many more were found around Piggott. Piggott is a city in Clay County, Arkansas, United States. It is one of the county's two seats ( Corning is the other and the northern Mastodon bones were found within the city limits of Helena at the southern end of the ridge. Mastodons or Mastodonts (from Greek μαστός and οδούς, meaning " Nipple tooth" are members of the extinct Helena is the eastern portion of Helena-West Helena Arkansas, a city in Phillips County Arkansas. Near Forrest City, in the bed of Crow Creek, a deposit of oyster shells estimated to be nearly 7,000,000 cubic yards in size was discovered. Forrest City is a city in St Francis County, Arkansas, United States. The common name oyster is used for a number of different groups of Bivalve Mollusks most of which live in marine habitats or Brackish water. ^[4]

References

1. ^ Roy B. Van Arsdale, Robert A. Williams, Eugene S. Schweig, Kaye M. Shedlock, Jack K. Odum and Kenneth W. King, "The origin of Crowley's Ridge, northeastern Arkansas: Erosional remnant or tectonic uplift?" Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America; August 1995; v. 85; no. 4; p. 963-985. Abstract
2. ^ Crowley's Ridge Parkway National Scenic Byway
3. ^ Crowley's Ridge Parkway
4. ^ ^{a b} Crowley's Ridge

External links

• Benjamin Crowley
• Crowley's Ridge
• Crittenden County Open Portal Website
• USGS GNIS: Crowleys Ridge, USGS GNIS page