The 5 National Natural Landmarks Of Arkansas

National Natural Landmarks (NNL) program in the US highlights natural heritage in the country and promotes its management, protection, and restoration. The program lists the geological and biological characteristics owned by the public and the private sectors.

The program’s primary goal is to assist and promote individual and group initiatives to preserve locations that highlight the nation’s biological and geological history. The initiative also aims to inspire people to value nature and the environment.




The nation’s 48 states, along with the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa territories, are home to 599 National Natural Landmarks. The only states lacking a National Natural Landmark are Delaware and Louisiana.

A little over half of the landmarks are under the management of the federal, state, county, or municipal governments. A public-private corporation owns and runs the remaining two-thirds, with one-third being privately owned.

A site is considered NNL if it still has some of a particular geological characteristic or biological aspect. Arkansas is home to five national natural landmarks.

A spring, three hardwood forests, and a shortleaf pine forest are present. Between 1972 and 1976, the five locations were declared landmarks.

Big Lake Natural Area

Mississippi County is where the Big Lake Natural Area is situated. The Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge includes it. The monument is home to a sizable portion of virgin woodland made up of southern Ozark and Midwest plants.




The region has a tiny lake, a marsh, and a bottomland hardwood forest. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has managed it since it was declared in 1974.

Lake Winona Natural Research Area

Saline County is a place called Lake Winona Research Nature Area. It comprises a sizeable shortleaf forest covering a significant portion of Arkansas.

The Tertiary period, which started 63 million years ago and extended into the Quaternary period 11 million years ago, is when the existing landforms evolved. The lake’s main water supply comes from Alum Fork Creek. In 1976, it received the designation of National Natural Landmark.




Mammoth Spring

A karst spring in Fulton County is called Mammoth Spring. After Big Spring and Greer Spring, it is the third biggest spring in the Ozark plains region. The world’s eighth most significant, it. The spring is an illustration of a typical underground stream-to-spring spring.




The spring supplied water to a dam that produced power in the early days of European colonization. Arkansas-Missouri Electricity Company purchased the dam in 1925, and up until 1972, it was utilized to produce hydroelectric power. The NNL, a state-owned company, was chosen in 1972.

Roaring Branch Natural Research Area

Research Natural Area at Roaring Branch has a Polk County address. The reserve has a mesophytic forest and a steep valley.




The forest is a remnant outlier of the woods that formerly covered Tennessee, Indiana, and Kentucky. Additionally, it supports several plant species. In 1976, the federal government designated the NNL.

White River Sugarberry Natural Area, for starters

Within the White River National Wildlife Refuge in Desha County lies the White River Sugarberry Natural Area.

Three bottomland hardwood forests are present, as well as a range of animal populations typical of the kind of forest. In 1974, it received the designation of a national natural landmark.

The Five Natural Arkansas National Landmarks

RankNameDateCountyOwnership
1Big Lake Natural Area1974MississippiFederal
2Lake Winona Research Natural Area1976SalineFederal
3Mammoth Spring1972FultonState
4Roaring Branch Research Natural Area1976PolkFederal
5White River Sugarberry Natural Area1974DeshaFederal




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