The Arkansas border that doesn't make sense

This border has been defying logic for over 200 years.

March 12, 2026

Original photo by © Craig Taylor Photo/stock.adobe.com You can travel south from Arkansas to reach every state it borders. The border between Arkansas and its six neighboring states is quite the geographical oddity. Arkansas shares its approximately 170-mile-long southern border with Louisiana. But you can also travel south from various points in Arkansas and wind up in Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, or Oklahoma — even though those states border Arkansas to the north, east, and west. This quirk is a result of both history and nature. Continue Reading

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Arkansas is home to America's first national river.

Arkansas is home to America's first national river. FACT FIB

In 1962, __ opened its first-ever store in Rogers, Arkansas.

In 1962, __ opened its first-ever store in Rogers, Arkansas. REVEAL ANSWER

Numbers Don't Lie   State parks in Arkansas 52 Height (in feet) of Mount Magazine, Arkansas' highest point 2,753 Year Arkansas' Hot Springs National Park was established 1921 Meteorites that have been discovered in Arkansas 15

There's a state law regarding the official pronunciation of "Arkansas." In 1881, the Arkansas General Assembly ended a long-standing debate over the spelling and pronunciation of the state's name. A formal resolution decreed "Arkansas" to be the official spelling and "Ar-kan-saw" (written phonetically as /ˈɑrkənˌsɔ/) the official pronunciation. The law's exact wording states that the name "should be pronounced in three (3) syllables, with the final 's' silent, the 'a' in each syllable with the Italian sound, and the accent on the first and last syllable." In this context, the "Italian sound" suggests an open pronunciation of the vowel /a/, similar to the sound in the words "father" and "pasta."

Today's edition of Interesting Facts was written by Bennett Kleinman and edited by Brooke Robinson.

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