Ask me anything about the Ozarks.

[ozarkman417]

I guess I better make one of these before its too late. Ask away, there's plenty to ask about, from certain stereotypes, to its geology.

[webny99]

What's the closest thing the Ozarks have to a big city?

[ozarkman417]

What's the closest thing the Ozarks have to a big city?

Known as the Queen City of the Ozarks, Springfield is by-far the largest single municipality in the Ozarks. In the far north-east part of the Ozarks are some of St. Louis's outer suburbs, such as Eureka.

Then there is Northwest Arkansas, a series of a few cities in the 50k-80k range in terms of population. This metro area; thanks to Walmart, Tyson, and JB Hunt (its Fortune 500 companies); has basically exploded over the past decade or two. Both Springfield and NWA are on the flatter Springfield Plateau, as opposed to the hillier plateaus: Boston and Salem.

[hotdogPi]

Boston and Salem

Were these intentionally named after Massachusetts? (Springfield too)

[ozarkman417]

Boston and Salem

Were these intentionally named after Massachusetts? (Springfield too)

The Springfield is named after Springfield, MO. The Salem Plateau takes its name from Salem, MO, a town of about 4k in Dent County. Boston was, as far as I know, used as a slang word for something that is hard or tough. The Boston Mountains, so they are called, are much more hillier than the rest of the Ozarks, thus harder to travel through.

[MikieTimT]

Boston and Salem

Were these intentionally named after Massachusetts? (Springfield too)

The Springfield is named after Springfield, MO. The Salem Plateau takes its name from Salem, MO, a town of about 4k in Dent County. Boston was, as far as I know, used as a slang word for something that is hard or tough. The Boston Mountains, so they are called, are much more hillier than the rest of the Ozarks, thus harder to travel through.

And the Boston Mountains are the part of the Ozarks closest to being actual mountains, rather than just deep valleys between hills.  Folks in the Rockies and Appalachia wouldn't consider them mountains, though.  Quite rugged nonetheless (https://goo.gl/maps/xMYuphM8UgvZ46ff8).  The mountains of the Ozarks that are what most would consider actual mountains are in the Arkansas River Valley that separates the Ozarks from the Ouachitas.  However, I'd qualify Mt. Magazine and Mt. Nebo more as buttes, and more belonging to the Ouachita Mtns., than the Ozarks, although technically in the Ozark Natl. Forest.

[abefroman329]

Is Ozark an accurate depiction of Lake of the Ozarks?

[ozarkman417]

Is Ozark an accurate depiction of Lake of the Ozarks?

I have never watched the show, so I'm not sure. Ozark isn't filmed at the Lake of the Ozarks, and is instead being filmed at a couple of lakes in Georgia including Lanier and Allatoona Lakes.

[Road Hog]

The Ozarks and Ouachitas are very, very dissimilar. The Ouachitas are east-west ridges and "mountains" that lend themselves to easy travel going across but are hell going north-south. The Ozarks are criss-crossed with valleys and ridges that are much more irregular. The geology of each is very different.

[US71]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozarks

The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portion of northern Arkansas and most of the southern half of Missouri, extending from Interstate 40 in central Arkansas to Interstate 70 in central Missouri.