Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River. Its diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozarks and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River. The capital and most populous city is Little Rock.

The name Arkansas is a French pronunciation of a Quapaw word meaning "land of downriver people". The pronunciation "arkansaw" was made official by an act of the state legislature in 1881.