Richland Creek, Arkansas, USA Photograph by Wayne Angel   Eastern North America: Southern central United States Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   23,900 square miles (62,000 square kilometers) -- nearly the same size as West Virginia Critical/Endangered

· Mountain Home
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Mountain Home

From glow-in-the-dark earthworms to old-growth forests, the Ozark Mountains are a place of true natural wonders. This ecoregion is home to gushing springs, cool and moist oak-hickory forests, and many unusual invertebrates and plants.

Special Features

The Ozarks are comprised chiefly of the Ouachita and Boston Mountains, whose forests are among the best-developed oak-hickory forests in the United States. For the last 300 million years, erosion has been the dominant geological force shaping this ecoregion.

	Cerulean warblers bind their neatly interwoven nests with spider silk. They also use fine grasses, plant fibers, bark strips, moss, and lichens to build their nests 20-60 feet (6-18 m) above the ground.

Wild Side

On a dark night on Rich Mountain, you might catch a glimpse of mysterious light coming from the moist ground. Here you will find the second-largest earthworm in the country, which is known to secrete a fluid that glows in the dark when it is disturbed. In rich forests of oak and hickory trees--with occasional pines and cedars--cerulean warblers snatch bees, wasps, and caterpillars. Distinctive freshwater communities are home to the Ozark cavefish, otter, crayfish, alligator snapping turtle, and hellbender--an ancient aquatic salamander that thrives on crayfish.

Cause for Concern

Only about three percent of this ecoregion remains as intact habitat. The forests along the Arkansas River have been almost completely destroyed, as have most of the lowland habitats. The greatest threats are conversion of hardwood forest to pine forest and the construction of vacation homes and resorts. Bear poaching and the taking of plants such as ginseng for the herbal and medicinal trade are also growing problems.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.