Boston Mountains
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Boston Mountains are a high and deeply dissected plateau in northern Arkansas and northeastern Oklahoma where they are referred to as the Cookson Hills. The Bostons form the southwestern part of Ozark plateau of which they are the highest and in general most rugged. The rocks of the region are essentially little disturbed, flat-lying sedimentary layers of the Paleozoic age. The highest ridges and peaks are capped by Pennsylvanian sandstone and shale. The deeply eroded valleys are cut into Mississippian limestone and below that layer the Ordovician dolomite.
The headwaters of both the White and Buffalo Rivers originate within the Boston Mountains. Beaver Lake occupies a valley within the region. To the south, the Arkansas River valley separates the Bostons from the Ouachita Mountains of west central Arkansas.
The Boston Mountains are the tallest range within the Ozark Mountains and reach heights of up to 2,570 feet in elevation with valleys 500 to 1550 feet deep. The highest peak reaches 2,578 ft. and is located in western Newton County, near the Buffalo Fire Tower and just a short distance to the headwaters of the Buffalo River. Other areas of the range lie in Carroll, Boone, Madison, Newton, Franklin, Johnson, and Pope counties in Arkansas.
