Mount Magazine

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Mount Magazine

| photo = 20131026 1521 Mount Magazine.png

| photo_caption = Looking west from Mount Magazine's Cameron Bluff (October 2013)

| elevation_ft = 2753

| elevation_ref = {{NAVD88}}{{cite ngs |id=FG1888 |name=MAG |accessdate=2008-12-16}}

| prominence_ft = 2143

| prominence_ref = {{cite peakbagger |pid=6606 |name=Magazine Mountain, Arkansas |access-date=2012-10-17}}

| map = Arkansas

| map_caption = Arkansas

| label_position = right

| listing = {{unbulleted list

| Most isolated major summits of the United States (11th)

| Most isolated major summits of North America (23rd)

| U.S. states by elevation (34th)

}}

| location = Logan County, Arkansas, U.S.

| range = Ouachita Mountains, U.S. Interior Highlands

| coordinates = {{coord|35.167016203|N|93.644725919|W|type:mountain_region:US-AR_scale:100000_source:ngs|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| range_coordinates =

| coordinates_ref =

| topo = USGS Blue Mountain

| easiest_route = Paved road

}}

Mount Magazine, officially named Magazine Mountain, is the highest point of the U.S. Interior Highlands and the U.S. state of Arkansas, and is the site of Mount Magazine State Park.{{cite web | url = http://www.mountmagazinestatepark.com/ | title = Mount Magazine State Park | publisher = Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism | access-date = 2013-01-02 | archive-date = 2013-01-15 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130115071513/http://www.mountmagazinestatepark.com/ | url-status = live }} It is a flat-topped mountain or mesa capped by hard rock and rimmed by precipitous cliffs. There are two summits atop the mountain: Signal Hill, which reaches {{convert|2,753|ft}}, and Mossback Ridge, which reaches {{cvt|2,700|ft|m|0}}.

Mount Magazine is often called "the highest point between the Alleghenies and the Rockies" (there are mountains located in the Trans-Pecos region of far-west Texas which exceed Mount Magazine in elevation and prominence, although the Trans-Pecos region lies so far south of the Rockies, that region arguably lies not "between" the Allegheny Mountains and the Rocky Mountains).

Etymology

According to English botanist Thomas Nuttall, writing in 1819, French hunters named the mountain "Magazine" or "Barn" (French {{lang|fr|magasin}}) because of its "peculiar form".{{cite book|last=Nuttall|first=Thomas|author-link=Thomas Nuttall|date=1821|title=A Journal of Travels Into the Arkansas Territory: During the Year 1819. With Occasional Observations on the Manners of the Aborigines. Illustrated by a Map and Other Engravings|location=Philadelphia|publisher=Thos. H. Palmer|page=123}}{{cite journal|last=Branner|first=John C.|date=Feb 1899|title=Some Old French Place Names in the State of Arkansas|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2917686|journal=Modern Language Notes|volume=14|issue=2|pages=33–40|doi=10.2307/2917686|jstor=2917686|hdl=2027/loc.ark:/13960/t7zk5pr7p|access-date=6 Nov 2021|hdl-access=free|archive-date=7 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107002316/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2917686|url-status=live}}

However, today some scholars believe Nuttall may have been writing about nearby Mount Nebo, and what is today called Mount Magazine was labeled "Castete Mt" on Nuttall's maps.{{cite web|title=Mount Magazine|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/Mount-Magazine-6908/|website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|first=Berry|last=Cody Lynn|date=26 Feb 2020|accessdate=6 Nov 2021|publisher=Central Arkansas Library System|archive-date=7 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107002323/https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/Mount-Magazine-6908/|url-status=live}}

Location

File:Mt Magazine NGS marker.jpg elevation marker atop Mount Magazine.]]

Mount Magazine is located due north of Blue Mountain Lake in Logan County, Arkansas, approximately {{convert|45|mi|km|abbr=on}} east of the Arkansas-Oklahoma border. The most scenic route to the top is a {{convert|10|mi|km|abbr=on}} drive along Highway 309 (also known as the Mount Magazine Scenic Byway) from Havana.

Physiographically, Mount Magazine is part of the Frontal Ouachita Mountains, and is part of the Arkansas River Valley ecoregion.{{cite web | url = http://www.geology.ar.gov/ark_state_maps/Geologic%20Map%20of%20Arkansas%201993%20(34x52).pdf | title = Geologic Map of Arkansas | publisher = Arkansas Geological Survey | access-date = 2017-10-22 | archive-date = 2018-07-08 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180708221247/http://www.geology.ar.gov/ark_state_maps/Geologic%20Map%20of%20Arkansas%201993%20%2834x52%29.pdf | url-status = live }} It lies within a southern extension of the Ozark National Forest close to the Ouachita National Forest.

Climate

The climate is very different from the typical climate of Arkansas state as temperatures remain 10 degrees cooler than normal temperatures in the valleys. The annual average temperature is 56 °F. The park gets 54 inches of rainfall every year, and due to the low clouds, there is fog and limited visibility all year for eight days each month.{{Cite web|url=https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/mount-magazine-state-park/park-information/weather|title=Mount Magazine Weather {{!}} Arkansas State Parks|website=www.arkansasstateparks.com|access-date=2020-04-01|archive-date=2020-03-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319201727/https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/mount-magazine-state-park/park-information/weather|url-status=live}}

= Summer =

The summer temperature very rarely reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit on the mountaintop and the hottest average temperature during the summer in the park is 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

= Winter =

The mountain has limited forest due to the harsh weather during the wintertime. Normal conditions like frost, sleet, hail, snow, and freezing rain can cause the limbs of trees to snap. Higher up on the mountain, frost flowers, ice crystals, hoarfrost, rime ice, and freezing fog can occur.

{{Weather box

|location = Mount Magazine, 1948–1966 normals and extremes

|single line = y

|Jan high F = 44.8

|Feb high F = 48.6

|Mar high F = 54.1

|Apr high F = 66.6

|May high F = 74.1

|Jun high F = 82.3

|Jul high F = 85.3

|Aug high F = 84.9

|Sep high F = 78.9

|Oct high F = 68.8

|Nov high F = 55.2

|Dec high F = 47.5

|Jan low F = 27.3

|Feb low F = 30.1

|Mar low F = 34.7

|Apr low F = 46.7

|May low F = 56.7

|Jun low F = 63.9

|Jul low F = 66.9

|Aug low F = 66.4

|Sep low F = 59.8

|Oct low F = 50.5

|Nov low F = 37.5

|Dec low F = 30.8

|Jan record high F = 76

|Feb record high F = 71

|Mar record high F = 80

|Apr record high F = 89

|May record high F = 94

|Jun record high F = 100

|Jul record high F = 104

|Aug record high F = 105

|Sep record high F = 98

|Oct record high F = 92

|Nov record high F = 78

|Dec record high F = 76

|Jan record low F = -9

|Feb record low F = -7

|Mar record low F = 2

|Apr record low F = 21

|May record low F = 28

|Jun record low F = 43

|Jul record low F = 53

|Aug record low F = 51

|Sep record low F = 39

|Oct record low F = 21

|Nov record low F = 0

|Dec record low F = -5

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.94

|Feb precipitation inch = 4.06

|Mar precipitation inch = 5.38

|Apr precipitation inch = 5.74

|May precipitation inch = 6.24

|Jun precipitation inch = 4.53

|Jul precipitation inch = 6.25

|Aug precipitation inch = 4.41

|Sep precipitation inch = 3.85

|Oct precipitation inch = 3.49

|Nov precipitation inch = 3.47

|Dec precipitation inch = 2.56

|Jan snow inch = 2.2

|Feb snow inch = 2.5

|Mar snow inch = 0.7

|Apr snow inch = 0

|May snow inch = 0

|Jun snow inch = 0

|Jul snow inch = 0

|Aug snow inch = 0

|Sep snow inch = 0

|Oct snow inch = 0

|Nov snow inch = 0.7

|Dec snow inch = 0.7

|source 1 = Western Regional Climate Center{{cite web

| url = http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ar5010

| title = MT MAGAZINE, ARKANSAS (035010)

| publisher = Western Regional Climate Center

| accessdate = August 12, 2016

| archive-date = August 14, 2016

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160814032449/http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ar5010

| url-status = live

}}

Geology

File:20131026 1523 Mount Magazine.png

As the South American plate collided with the North American plate during the late Paleozoic, a major foreland basin, the Arkoma Basin, developed north of the Ouachita Mountains.{{cite journal|last1=Morris|first1=R.C.|date=1974|title=Sedimentary and Tectonic History of the Ouachita Mountains|journal=The Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Special Publications|volume=22}} Small grains of sediment that had filled the Arkoma Basin were compacted and cemented into sedimentary rock. As the land rose above sea level, small streams developed that eventually merged into the Arkansas River.{{cite web |title= The Geologic History of Mount Magazine |url= http://www.mountmagazinestatepark.com/history/.pdf |publisher= Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism |access-date= 2017-10-24}} After millions of years of erosion, synclines like Mount Magazine have become the most positive topographic features; this phenomenon is the result of the rapid weathering of shales once sandstones were breached on the flanks of surrounding anticlines.{{cite web |title= Stratigraphic Summary of the Arkansas River Valley and Ouachita Mountains |url= http://www.geology.ar.gov/geology/strat_arkvalley_ouachita.htm |format= website |publisher= Arkansas Geological Survey |access-date= 2017-10-26 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180529114957/http://www.geology.ar.gov/geology/strat_arkvalley_ouachita.htm |archive-date= 2018-05-29 |url-status= dead }}

Mount Magazine is a broad mesa composed of Pennsylvanian sedimentary rocks deposited in various shallow-water environments.{{cite web |title= Geologic Map of Mount Magazine State Park and Vicinity |url= http://www.geology.ar.gov/maps_pdf/geologic/sps/magazine_mtn_%20state_parkdgm_sps_001%20(42x48)%20(18%20June%202008).pdf |publisher= Arkansas Geological Survey |access-date= 2017-10-22 |archive-date= 2017-01-26 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170126002153/http://www.geology.ar.gov/maps_pdf/geologic/sps/magazine_mtn_%20state_parkdgm_sps_001%20%2842x48%29%20%2818%20June%202008%29.pdf |url-status= live }} Like many mountains in the western Arkansas River Valley, Mount Magazine is capped by the Savanna Formation, a sequence of shale, siltstone, and sandstone; the upper portion of this sequence is missing throughout most of Arkansas. The Savanna Formation is conformable with the underlying McAlester Formation, a sequence of shale, siltstone, sandstone, and several coal beds. The McAlester Formation is conformable with the underlying Hartshorne Sandstone, a prominent ledge-former under favorable structural conditions. The Hartshorne Sandstone is unconformable with the underlying Atoka Formation. This unit has the largest areal extent of any of the Paleozoic formations in Arkansas, extending as far north as the Boston Mountains, and is divided into upper, middle, and lower members.

Nature & Attractions

Mount Magazine promotes environmental conservation through an Eco-friendly nature attraction that allows visitors to explore nature.{{Cite web|url=https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/mount-magazine-state-park/things-to-do/birding-wildlife|title=Mount Magazine Birding & Wildlife {{!}} Arkansas State Parks|website=www.arkansasstateparks.com|access-date=2020-03-10|archive-date=2023-04-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405152219/https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/mount-magazine-state-park/things-to-do/birding-wildlife|url-status=live}} It also consists of 18 campsites for nature-lovers.{{Cite web|url=http://www.exploretheozarksonline.com/activities/parksnature/stateparks/arkansas/mtmagazine/index.html|title=Mt Magazine State Park of Arkansas {{!}} Explore the Ozarks|website=www.exploretheozarksonline.com|access-date=2020-03-10|archive-date=2020-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212175111/http://www.exploretheozarksonline.com/activities/parksnature/stateparks/arkansas/mtmagazine/index.html|url-status=live}} An annual butterfly festival is hosted each June in the Paris town square.{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/mount-magazine-state-park-1242/|title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-01|archive-date=2020-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317201655/https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/mount-magazine-state-park-1242/|url-status=live}}

= Animals =

The park is home to many species including the shagreen snail, black bear, white-tailed deer, rufous-crowned sparrows (rare), and 94 of the 134 butterfly species of Arkansas. The rarest butterfly species is the Diana Fritillary.{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/mount-magazine-state-park-1242/|title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-17|archive-date=2020-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317201655/https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/mount-magazine-state-park-1242/|url-status=live}}

= Activities =

Activities include the following: hiking, biking, bird watching, horseback riding, hang gliding, rappelling, rock climbing, sightseeing, and photography. ATV riding is also allowed as there is a guide to the activity.