The Ozarks (also referred to as Ozark Mountain Country or Ozark Plateau) are a cultural highland region of the central United States. It covers much of the south half of Missouri and an extensive portion of northwest and North central Arkansas. It is home to many towns and the name Ozark doesn’t stand for just the plateau, it also stands for the culture and dialect of the people who live there.

Early settlers in Missouri were American pioneers who came West from the Southern Appalachians at the beginning of the 19th century, followed in the 1840s and 50s by Irish and German immigrants. Much of the Ozark population is of German, English, and Scots-Irish descent, often including some Native American ancestry. Ozark families from which the regional culture derived tend to have lived in the area since the 19th century.

The Ozarks are also home to many conservation areas and national forests. Ozark-St. Francis National Forest was created by proclamation of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908, and in 1939 Congress established Mark Twain National Forest at nine sites in Missouri.

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