Ozark
Natural Division
(topographic map courtesy of National Geographic)
Latitude:
37 14N Longitude: 093 23W
Above sea level:
1,324 feet The Ozark Natural
Division (known as the "Ozark Plateau") is a large, unglaciated
region of greater elevation than the surrounding areas.
This plateau comprises almost 40 percent of the state. Characterized
by thin, often stony, residual soils, the topography is often very
steep. Caves, springs, bluffs, and high-gradient, clear-flowing
streams with entrenched "meanders" are characteristic features. Deciduous,
pine-oak and pine forests formed the predominant vegetation in pre-settlement
times. Glades, some of them extensive, commonly occur where bedrock
surfaces. Bottomland deciduous forests are common along many of
the streams. The great age and physiographic diversity of the Ozarks
make it the region of greatest species diversity in Missouri. This
division is divided into six sections. The Salem
Plateau Natural Section is a broad, gentle plain that was originally
forested to a great extent but is now characterized by open pastureland
and scattered trees. Bottomland deciduous forests remain along many
streams. The Lower Ozarks
Natural Section is richly forested and characterized by springs,
caves, sinkholes, calcareous wet meadows, glades, clear, high-gradient
streams and steep-sided hills with narrow, chert-covered ridges.
Short-leaf pine (Pinus echinata) is also characteristic. Streams
flow generally southward and include the St. Francis, Black, Current
and Eleven Point rivers. The St. Francois
Mountains Natural Section is the area of greatest relief and elevation
in Missouri. There are few springs, caves or other karst features
in this natural section. The pre-settlement vegetation of pine and
mixed pine-oak still predominates. The White River
and Elk River natural sections are both characterized by steep terrain
and deciduous forest mixed with some pine. Glades are common, especially
in the White River drainage. Construction of reservoirs (Table Rock,
Taneycomo and Bull Shoals lakes), has created habitat for a few
wetland-associated breeding birds while inundating habitat for bottomland
forest species. The Springfield
Plateau Natural Section is physiographically the most distinct
in the Ozark Natural Division. Historically, its landform was not
highly dissected and its topography, soils, and pre-settlement vegetation
were characterized by a mosaic of Osage Plains prairies grading
into Ozarks forests. Prairie once occupied about 29 percent of this
section, which today is less than 1 percent prairie. Today, this
natural section is characterized by fragmented forests, pasture
and early successional shrub-scrub habitats. The physical
characteristics described above have influenced the cultural traits
that distinguish the Ozarks region. Dr. Milton Rafferty, Professor
Emeritus at Southwest Missouri State University, states that defining
the Ozarks from a cultural perspective is difficult, at best. However,
he identified four traits that help our understanding of the Ozarks'
culture.
- The first
trait is that the region is rural in general character. Rural
suggests open country, farming and contrasts to city life.
- The second
trait is that Ozark heritage has been strongly influenced by the
early immigrants mainly from Kentucky and Tennessee (principally
from Scotch-Irish stock) who first occupied the choice lands and
established self-sufficient farms. Rafferty points out that because
for many years only a few outsiders entered the area, the economic
activities, technologies, beliefs and general way of life came
to be patterned after that of the first immigrants.
- The third
trait common to the Ozarks is that Ozarkers have an uncommon sense
of place. Persons living in the Ozarks think of themselves as
Ozarkers and think of non-Ozarkers as outsiders.
- The fourth
trait identified by Rafferty is the relative stability of the
social system in the Ozarks as contrasted with the fluidity of
social relations that is typical of the United States. Rafferty
concludes that these four cultural traits are hardly unique to
the Ozarks. They are traits found everywhere to a certain extent,
but particularly in rural America. In the Ozarks, these traits
are accentuated, drawn together, and combined in unique and interesting
ways
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