Melbourne E. Bay (February 25, 1913 – May 14, 1997), known professionally as Mel Bay , was an American musician and publisher best known for his series of music education books. His Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords , first published in 1971, remains a bestseller.
94-465: Melbourne E. Bay was born on February 25, 1913, in the little Ozark Mountain town of Bunker , Missouri. He bought a Sears Roebuck guitar at the age of 13 and several months later played his first "gig". Bay did not have a guitar teacher, so Bay watched the few guitarists he knew and copied their fingering on the fretboard , teaching himself chords. Once he felt he knew the rudiments of the guitar, he started experimenting with other instruments, including
188-753: A collection of audio recordings, fieldnotes and photographs to Missouri State University in Springfield. The collection includes more than 3,000 hours of fiddle music and interviews recorded at jam sessions, music parties, concerts and dances in the Ozarks. Selected audio recordings along with biographical sketches, photographs and tune histories were published in Drew Beisswenger and Gordon McCann's 2008 book/37-track CD set Mel Bay Presents Ozarks Fiddle Music: 308 Tunes Featuring 30 Legendary Fiddlers With Selections from 50 Other Great Ozarks Fiddlers . From 1973 to 1983,
282-465: A four-volume anthology of regional songs and ballads collected in the 1920s and 1930s, and Ozark Magic and Folklore (Courier Dover Publications, 1964). Evidenced by Randolph's extensive field work , many Ozark anecdotes from the oral tradition are often bawdy , full of wild embellishments on everyday themes. In 1941–42, commissioned by Alan Lomax of the Archive of Folk Culture , Randolph returned to
376-455: A high and deeply dissected plateau. The rocks of the region are essentially little disturbed, flat-lying sedimentary layers of Paleozoic age. The highest ridges and peaks are capped by Pennsylvanian sandstone such as the basal Atoka and the "Middle Bloyd". The deeply eroded valleys are cut into Mississippian limestone and below that layer Ordovician dolomite. During the Pennsylvanian period,
470-573: A preference by many Earth scientists for the term "geomorphology" in order to suggest an analytical approach to landscapes rather than a descriptive one. In current usage, physiography still lends itself to confusion as to which meaning is meant, the more specialized "geomorphological" definition or the more encompassing "physical geography" definition. For the purposes of physiographic mapping, landforms are classified according to both their geologic structures and histories. Distinctions based on geologic age also correspond to physiographic distinctions where
564-492: A professional musician he would have to be in a large city. He therefore moved to St. Louis in 1933, and later to suburban Kirkwood , Missouri, to find his audience. He played with numerous local and traveling bands. In addition, he landed staff guitar jobs on several radio stations. He led the Mel Bay Trio and played for twenty-five years. While Bay was pursuing his playing career, he continued to teach as many as 100 students
658-601: A significant thickness of cherty dolomites such as the Jefferson City , Cotter and Powell formations. Portions of the Ozark Plateau, the Springfield Plateau of southwest Missouri and northern Arkansas, are underlain by Mississippian cherty limestones locally referred to as "Boone chert", consisting of limestone and chert layers. These are eroded and form steep hills, valleys and bluffs. The Boston Mountains are
752-520: A stereotypical depiction of Ozark people. Ozark musicians include Porter Wagoner and old-time fiddler Bob Holt . Netflix drama series Ozark takes place in Osage Beach, Missouri and revolves around the well-to-do Byrde family as their lives are uprooted and they are forced to move from Chicago to the Ozarks after a money laundering scheme goes wrong. The series focuses on the Byrdes' dealings in
846-490: A week. He decided to begin writing instructional material due to the difficulty encountered by guitarists in playing chord forms in rhythm sections , and the poor note reading ability prevalent among guitarists at that time. These books became the basis of the Mel Bay instructional method and the Mel Bay publication house. After the war, Bay was asked to write instructional material on the guitar for GIs wishing to learn music under
940-767: Is 2,463 feet (751 m). Nearby, five unnamed peaks have elevations at or slightly above 2,560 feet (780 m). Drainage is primarily to the White River, with the exception of the Illinois River , although there also is considerable drainage from the south slopes of the Boston Mountains to the Arkansas River. Major streams of this type include Lee Creek, Frog Bayou, Mulberry River, Spadra Creek, Big Piney Creek, Little Piney Creek, Illinois Bayou, Point Remove Creek, and Cadron Creek. Many Ozark waterways have their headwaters in
1034-539: Is based upon the classic three-tiered approach by Nevin M. Fenneman in 1916, that separates landforms into physiographic divisions, physiographic provinces , and physiographic sections. The classification mechanism has become a popular geographical tool in the United States, indicated by the publication of a USGS shapefile that maps the regions of the original work and the National Park Services's use of
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#17330847697891128-424: Is common and financially supported by established buyers in the area. Other forages include poke , watercress , persimmons and pawpaw ; wild berries such as blackberry , black raspberry , raspberry , red mulberry , black cherry , wild strawberry and dewberry ; and wild nuts such as black walnut and even acorns . Edible native legumes , wild grasses and wildflowers are plentiful, and beekeeping
1222-694: Is common. Print and broadcast media have explored Ozark culture broadly. Books set in the Ozarks include Where the Red Fern Grows , The Shepherd of the Hills , and As a Friend . The 1999 film Ride with the Devil , based on the book Woe to Live On , depicts conflict in southwest Missouri during the Civil War . Winter's Bone , a novel by Daniel Woodrell (author of Woe to Live On ), reflects on contemporary methamphetamine culture and its impact on families on
1316-469: Is intimately associated with certain branches of geology, as sedimentation , while geomorphology connects physiography with geography. The dynamic interlude representing the active phase of physiography weaves the basic threads of geologic history." The U.S. Geological Survey defines physiography as a study of "Features and attributes of earth's land surface", while geomorphology is defined separately as "Branch of geology dealing with surface land features and
1410-529: Is popularized. The toponym Ozarks may derive from an English-language adaptation of the French abbreviation aux Arcs (short for French : aux Arcansas , meaning "of/at/to the Arkansas (Quapaw) [plural]"). In the decades prior to the French and Indian War of 1754 to 1763, aux Arkansas referred to France 's trading post at Arkansas Post , located in the wooded Arkansas Delta lowland area above
1504-464: Is sometimes as the science which describes and explains the physical features of the earth's surface". By 1911, the definition of physiography in Encyclopædia Britannica had evolved to be "In popular usage the words 'physical geography' have come to mean geography viewed from a particular standpoint rather than any special department of the subject. The popular meaning is better conveyed by
1598-456: Is suitable for most canoeing and tubing. Fish hatcheries are common due to the abundance of springs and waterways. The Neosho National Fish Hatchery was built in 1888; it was the first federal hatchery. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission , Missouri Department of Conservation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service operate numerous warm and cold water hatcheries and trout parks; private hatcheries such as at Rockbridge are found throughout
1692-477: Is the Springfield Plateau, named after Springfield, Missouri , nicknamed the "Queen City of the Ozarks". On the northern Ozark border are the cities of St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri . Significant Ozark cities in Arkansas include Fayetteville , Bentonville , Springdale , Eureka Springs , and Fort Smith . Branson , just north of the Arkansas–Missouri border, is a tourist destination where Ozark culture
1786-594: Is the growth industry of the Ozarks as evidenced by the growth of the Branson, Missouri , entertainment center celebrating traditional Ozark culture. The rapidly growing Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area has also become a tourist hub, drawing nationwide attention for the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas . Poultry farming and food processing are significant industries throughout
1880-694: The BNSF Railway . Logging and timber industries are also significant in the Ozark economy, with operations ranging from small family-run sawmills to large commercial concerns. Fortune 500 companies such as Wal-Mart , Leggett & Platt , Bass Pro Shops , and O'Reilly Auto Parts are based in the Ozarks. The area is home to several Missouri wine and spirit regions, including the Ozark Highlands and Ozark Mountain American Viticultural Areas , and
1974-529: The Current and Jacks Fork rivers as the first US national park based on a river system. The Eleven Point River is included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System established in 1968. These parks and rivers are a major economic driver for some of the least populated counties in Arkansas and Missouri, attracting up to 1.5 million tourists annually. Many other waterways and streams have their headwaters in
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#17330847697892068-533: The Desert Southwest . The Boston Mountains contain the highest elevations of the Ozarks, with peaks over 2,500 feet (760 m), and form some of the greatest relief of any formation between the Appalachians and Rocky Mountains. The Ouachita Mountains to the south rise a few hundred feet higher, but are not geographically associated with the Ozarks. The Boston Mountains portion of the Ozarks extends north of
2162-508: The Elk River in southwestern Missouri and its tributary Big Sugar Creek . Ozark rivers and streams are typically clear water, with baseflows sustained by many seeps and springs , and flow through forests along limestone and dolomite bluffs. Gravel bars are common along shallow banks, while deep holes are found along bluffs. Except during periods of heavy rain or snow melt — when water levels rise quite rapidly — their level of difficulty
2256-706: The Elvins Group and the Potosi and Eminence formations. Withdrawal of the seas resulted in another unconformity during the latest Cambrian and early Ordovician periods. Hydrothermal mineralizing fluids formed the rich lead ore deposits of the Lead Belt during this time. Sedimentation resumed in the Ordovician with the deposition of the Gunter sandstone, the Gasconade dolomite and
2350-616: The Ozark Highland Spirits Region. There are a number of microbreweries throughout the region. "Ozark" also refers to the distinctive culture, architecture, and dialect shared by the people who live on the plateau. Early settlers in Missouri were pioneers who came west from the Southern Appalachians at the beginning of the 19th century, followed in the 1840s and 1850s by Irish and German immigrants. Much of
2444-503: The Ozark Mountains , Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau , is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri , Arkansas , and Oklahoma , as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas . The Ozarks cover a significant portion of northern Arkansas and most of the southern half of Missouri, extending from Interstate 40 in central Arkansas to Interstate 70 in central Missouri. There are two mountain ranges in
2538-617: The red wolf , Ozark big-eared bat , Indiana bat , eastern small-footed bat , southeastern bat, southeastern big-eared bat ; longnose darter , Ozark cavefish , Ozark cave crayfish , Bowman's cave amphipod , Ozark cave amphipod, bat cave isopod ; and Ozark chinquapin . It is a habitat of migratory birds and contains geological, archeological, historical, and paleontological resources. Commercial farms and processing operations are known to raise levels of chemical and biological contaminants in Ozark streams, threatening water supplies, recreational use and endangered native species. Many of
2632-399: The tenor banjo , mandolin , Hawaiian guitar , and ukulele . Bay played in front of an audience every chance he got, including a stint with a snake oil salesman in and around his hometown. The man hired Bay to play the banjo while sitting in the salesman's car. Once a crowd gathered to listen, Bay would stop playing, and the salesman would pitch his cure-all. Bay knew that to make it as
2726-400: The 21st century, some confusion remains as to exactly what "physiography" is. One source states "Geomorphology includes quaternary geology, physiography and most of physical geography", treating physiography as a separate field, but subservient to geomorphology. Another source states "Geomorphology (or physiography) refers to the study of the surface features of the earth. It involves looking at
2820-779: The American Federation of Musicians. The St. Louis Music Educators Association gave him a Certificate of Merit. The Missouri House of Representatives honored his achievements with a resolution. Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. made October 25, 1996 Mel Bay Day in St. Louis. President Bill Clinton sent Bay a letter of commendation. He was inducted into the American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame in 2001 for his work furthering banjo instruction. Many guitarists have studied Bay's books. Guitar Player magazine called him "the George Washington of
2914-539: The Arkansas River Valley 20 to 35 miles (32 to 56 km), is approximately 200 miles (320 km) long, and is bordered by the Springfield and Salem Plateau to the north of the White River . Summits can reach elevations of just over 2,560 feet (780 m), with valleys 500 to 1,550 feet (150 to 470 m) deep. Turner Ward Knob is the highest named peak. Found in western Newton County, Arkansas , its elevation
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3008-675: The Bittersweet project, which began as an English class at Lebanon High School in Missouri, collected 476 taped and transcribed interviews, published 482 stories, and took over 50,000 photographs documenting traditional Ozark culture. Population influx since the 1950s, coupled with geographically lying in both the Midwest and Upper South , proximity to the Mississippi embayment , the Osage and Northern Plains , contributes to changing cultural values in
3102-661: The Boston Mountains portion of the Ozarks such as the Mulberry River , the White River, War Eagle Creek, Little Mulberry Creek, Lee Creek, Big Piney Creek, and the Little Red River. To the south, the Arkansas River valley separates the Boston Mountains from the Ouachita Mountains. Missouri Ozark rivers include the Gasconade , Big Piney , and Niangua rivers in the north central region. The Meramec River and its tributaries Huzzah Creek and Courtois Creek are found in
3196-586: The Forest Service. Their efforts bore fruit with The Wilderness Act of 1964 which designated wilderness areas "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by men, where man himself is a visitor and does not remain", though this included second growth public forests like the Mark Twain National Forest. Land was also added to Ozark National Forest during this period, with over 544,000 acres (2,200 km ) in total additions. Some land
3290-534: The GI Bill. When he approached the three major music publishers in New York City, they turned him down, saying there was no future in the guitar. In 1947, he formed Mel Bay Publications and wrote the first book, The Orchestral Chord System for Guitar . This book is still in print under the title Rhythm Guitar Chord System . His Modern Guitar Method was written shortly after in 1948. After the success of Elvis Presley in
3384-578: The Missouri River and Mississippi River border areas along the eastern and northeastern flanks. Karst features such as springs , losing streams , sinkholes and caves are common in the limestones of the Springfield Plateau and abundant in the dolomite bedrock of the Salem Plateau and Boston Mountains. Missouri is known as "The Cave State" with over 7,300 recorded caves, second in number only to Tennessee. The majority of these caves are found in
3478-513: The Oklahoma portion of the Ozarks, as well as in the east half of the Boston Mountains in Arkansas. Logging of both softwood and hardwood timber species on both private land and in the National Forests has long been an important economic activity. The majority of the Ozarks is forested. Oak-hickory is the predominant type; eastern junipers are common, with stands of pine often seen in
3572-695: The Ozark Plateau was uplifted as a result of the Ouachita orogeny . During the late Paleozoic, the deep ocean basin that existed in central and southern Arkansas was lifted when South America collided with North America, creating the folded Ouachita Mountains and uplifting the Ozark plateau to the north. Formal conservation in the region began when the Ozark National Forest was created by proclamation of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 to preserve 917,944 acres (3,714.79 km ) across five Arkansas counties. Another 608,537 acres (2,462.66 km ) were added
3666-453: The Ozark counties. The Ozark Plateaus aquifer system affects groundwater movement in all areas except the igneous core of the St. Francois Mountains. Geographic features include limestone and dolomite glades , which are rocky, desert-like areas on hilltops. Kept open by periodic fires that limit growth of grasses and forbs in shallow soil, glades are home to collared lizards, tarantulas, scorpions, cacti and other species more typical of
3760-482: The Ozark population is of English , Scots-Irish , and German descent, and the Ozark families from which the regional culture derived tend to have lived in the area since the 19th century. Early settlers relied on hunting , fishing , trapping , and foraging to supplement their diets and incomes. Today hunting and fishing for recreation are common activities and an important part of the tourist industry. Foraging for mushrooms (especially morels ) and for ginseng
3854-654: The Ozarks with a portable recording machine from the Library of Congress and captured over 800 songs, ballads and instrumentals. Selected from among these several hundred recordings, 35 tracks were released on Various Artists: Ozark Folksongs (Rounder Records) in 2001. Square dances were an important social avenue throughout the Ozarks into the 20th century. Square dances sprang up wherever people concentrated around mills and timber camps, springs, fords, and in towns small and large. Geographically isolated communities saw their own local dance tunes and variations develop. Of all
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3948-952: The Ozarks, as well as their interactions with local Ozark crime families. The series premiered on July 21, 2017. Examples of commercial interpretations of traditional Ozark culture include the two major family theme parks in the region, Silver Dollar City and the now defunct Dogpatch USA , and the resort entertainment complex in Branson . Ozark Folkways in Winslow, Arkansas , and Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas , interpret regional culture through musical performance and exhibitions of pioneer skills and crafts. Traditional Ozark culture includes stories and tunes passed orally between generations through community music parties and other informal gatherings. Many of these tunes and tales can be traced to British origins and to German folklore . Moreover, historian Vance Randolph attributes
4042-420: The Ozarks. Theme parks and theatres seen to reflect regional values have little in common with traditional Ozark culture. Community tradition bearers remain active, in decreasing numbers, far afield of commercial offers. Physiographic region Physiographic regions are a means of defining Earth 's landforms into independently distinct, mutually exclusive areas, independent of political boundaries. It
4136-559: The Ozarks: the Boston Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma, as well as the St. Francois Mountains of Missouri. Wahzhazhe Summit (formerly known as Buffalo Lookout), is the highest point in the Ozarks at 2,561 feet (781 m), and is located in the Boston Mountains, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) east of Pettigrew, Newton County, Arkansas . Geologically, the area is a broad dome with the exposed core in
4230-812: The White River Hills along the White River, including Branson and Mountain Home to Batesville ; the Salem Plateau or Central Plateau, which includes a broad band across south central Missouri and north central Arkansas including the Lebanon , Salem and West Plains areas; the Courtois Hills of southeastern Missouri; the Osage-Gasconade Hills around the Lake of the Ozarks ; the Saint Francois Mountains ; and
4324-530: The White River and its tributaries. Multiple smaller lakes have been created by dams in the White River basin from 1911 through 1960. These smaller lakes include Lake Sequoyah, a small recreational fishing lake east of Fayetteville, Arkansas , formed in 1961; Sequoyah is the uppermost impoundment on the White River. Below Sequoyah (northeast of Fayetteville) is Beaver Lake , formed in 1960. The White River continues northeasterly into Table Rock Lake (1958) in Missouri, which feeds directly into Lake Taneycomo, where
4418-515: The ancient St. Francois Mountains. The Ozarks cover nearly 47,000 square miles (120,000 km ), making it the most extensive highland region between the Appalachians and Rockies . Together with the Ouachita Mountains , the area is known as the U.S. Interior Highlands . The Salem Plateau, named after Salem, Missouri , makes up the largest geologic area of the Ozarks. The second largest
4512-603: The basal crust of the entire region. A major unconformity in the region attests that the Ozarks were above sea level for several hundred million years from the time of the volcanism in the Precambrian until the mid- Cambrian with an erosionally produced relief of up to 1,500 feet (460 m). The seas encroached during the late Cambrian producing the Lamotte Sandstone , 200 to 300 feet (61 to 91 m) thick, followed by carbonate sedimentation. Coral reefs formed around
4606-403: The case. A maturely dissected plateau may grade without a break from rugged mountains on the one hand to mildly rolling farm lands on the other. So also, forms which are not classified together may be superficially similar; for example, a young coastal plain and a peneplain . In a large number of cases, the boundary lines are also geologic lines, due to differences in the nature or structure of
4700-457: The concept became embroiled in controversy surrounding the appropriate concerns of that discipline. Some geomorphologists held to a geological basis for physiography and emphasized a concept of physiographic regions while a conflicting trend among geographers was to equate physiography with "pure morphology," separated from its geological heritage. In the period following World War II, the emergence of process, climatic, and quantitative studies led to
4794-656: The confluence of the Arkansas River with the Mississippi River . Another possible etymological origin might be the French phrase aux arcs , meaning "[land] of the arches", in reference to the dozens of natural bridges formed by erosion and collapsed caves in the Ozark region. These include Clifty Hollow Natural Bridge (actually a series of arches) in Missouri, and Alum Cove in the Ozark–St. Francis National Forest . By
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#17330847697894888-626: The construction of nearly 400 fire lookouts throughout the Ozarks at 121 known sites in Arkansas and 257 in Missouri. Of those lookouts, about half remain, and many of them are in use by the U.S. Forest Service . A 2007 report by the National Trust for Historic Preservation deemed these fire lookouts and related structures as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. In the 1960s, federal activity promoted modernization, especially through better transportation and tourism. The Ozarks Regional Commission sponsored numerous projects. Tourism
4982-422: The definition of the term physiography. "In England, physiography is regarded as the introduction to physical science in general. It is made to include the elements of physics , chemistry , astronomy , physical geography, and geology , and sometimes even certain phases of botany and zoology . In America, the term has a somewhat different meaning. It is sometimes used as a synonym for physical geography, and
5076-401: The distribution of land, water, soil and rock material that forms the land surface. Land is closely linked to the geomorphology of a particular landscape", regarding physiography as synonymous with geomorphology. Yet another source states "Physiography may be viewed from two distinct angles, the one dynamic, the other passive". The same source continues by stating "In a large fashion geodynamics
5170-648: The early 1950s, the guitar became more popular, helping to ensure the success of the company. For years Bay traveled from town to town, talking to guitar teachers and players, and showing them his publications. He claimed to have known every guitar teacher in America on a first-name basis. Mel Bay Publications produces instruction books and sheet music for many instruments (guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, violin, clarinet, accordion) and many genres (classical, jazz, folk, blues, rock). Bay sold D'Angelico guitars . He played professionally on his New Yorker model, but his favorite
5264-534: The early 20th century left significant abandoned underground mine problems and heavy metal contamination in topsoil and groundwater in the Tri-State district. Much of the area supports beef cattle ranching, and dairy farming is common across the area. Dairy farms are usually cooperative affairs, with small farms selling to a corporate wholesaler, who packages product under a common brand for retail sales. Petroleum exploration and extraction also takes place in
5358-505: The early 20th century, the term "Ozarks" had entered common parlance. The Ozarks consist of five physiographic subregions: the Boston Mountains of north Arkansas and Cookson Hills of east Oklahoma; the Springfield Plateau of southwest Missouri, northeast Oklahoma, and northwest Arkansas and including Springfield , Joplin and Monett / Aurora in Missouri, Tahlequah in Oklahoma, and Fayetteville and Harrison in Arkansas;
5452-531: The eroded remnants of an ancient range which form the geological core of the highland dome. The igneous and volcanic rocks of the St. Francois Mountains are the exposed remains of a Proterozoic mountain range hundreds of millions of years old. The remaining hills are the exposed portion of an extensive terrane (the Spavinaw terrane in part) of granitic and rhyolitic rocks dating from 1485 to 1350 mya that stretches from Ohio to western Oklahoma. The core of
5546-418: The facts of mathematical geography, and the three are so closely inter-related that they cannot be rigidly separated in any discussion". The 1919 edition of The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge further adjusted the definition to be "Physiography (geomorphology), now generally recognized as a science distinct from geology, deals with the origins and development of land forms, traces out
5640-532: The field. In Germany, Oscar Peschel in 1870, proposed that geographers should study the morphology of the Earth's surface, having an interest in the study of landforms for the development of human beings. As the chair of geography (and a geologist by training) in Bonn, Germany, Ferdinand von Richthofen made the study of landforms the main research field for himself and his students. Elsewhere, Thomas Henry Huxley 's Physiography
5734-477: The following year. The initial forest included area as far south as Mount Magazine and as far east as Sylamore . In 1939, Congress established Mark Twain National Forest at nine sites in Missouri. Wildlife management areas were founded in the 1920s and '30s to restore populations to viable numbers. In the 1930s and 1940s Aldo Leopold , Arthur Carhart and Bob Marshall developed a "wilderness" policy for
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#17330847697895828-433: The formation of much Ozark lore to individual families when "backwoods parents begin by telling outrageous whoppers to their children and end by half believing the wildest of these tales themselves." Randolph collected Ozark folklore and lyrics in volumes such as the national bestseller Pissing in the Snow and Other Ozark Folktales (University of Illinois Press, 1976), Ozark Folksongs ( University of Missouri Press , 1980),
5922-400: The forms are so recent as to be in their first erosion cycle , as is generally the case with sheets of glacial drift . Generally, forms which result from similar histories are characterized by certain similar features, and differences in history result in corresponding differences of form, usually resulting in distinctive features which are obvious to the casual observer, but this is not always
6016-402: The granite and rhyolite islands in this Cambrian sea. This carbonate formation, the Bonneterre , now mostly dolomite , is exposed around the St. Francis Mountains, but extends in the subsurface throughout the Ozarks and reaches a thickness of 400 to 1,500 feet (120 to 460 m). The Bonneterre is overlain by 500 to 600 feet (150 to 180 m) of dolomite, often sandy, silty or cherty, forming
6110-531: The guitar". Sales of his Modern Guitar Method series are estimated to be more than 20 million copies. Bay established the structure for modern guitar education and helped increase the popularity of guitar. The comedy song "Ode to Mel Bay" (written and first recorded by Michael "Supe" Granda of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and featured on the album The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World by Tommy Emmanuel and Chet Atkins ), pokes fun lovingly at Mel Bay's books. Ozarks The Ozarks , also known as
6204-424: The largest lakes created by these dams are on the White River . Beginning in 1911 with the construction of Powersite Dam on the White River near Branson, Missouri and the impoundment of Lake Taneycomo the Ozarks rivers have been harnessed for electrical power, recreation, and flood control. After the President Franklin D, Roosevelt signed the Flood Control Act of 1938, six large flood control dams were constructed on
6298-406: The media, legislature, and courts to keep the Buffalo River free flowing. The Ozark Society, the main force behind the dam protest, still leads the fight to keep the Buffalo River pristine and protected. Today, the Buffalo River sees approximately 800,000 visitors camping, canoeing, floating, hiking, and tubing annually. In Missouri, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways was established in 1964 along
6392-537: The northeastern Ozarks. The Black and St. Francis rivers mark the eastern crescent of the Ozarks. The James , Spring and North Fork rivers are in south-central Missouri. Forming the west central border of the Ozarks from Missouri through Kansas and into Oklahoma are the Spring River and its tributary, Center Creek. Grand Falls, Missouri's largest natural waterfall, a chert outcropping, includes bluffs and glades on Shoal Creek south of Joplin . All these river systems see heavy recreational use in season, including
6486-437: The northern Ozarks. These three lakes were formed by impounding the Osage River and its tributary the Pomme de Terre River in 1931, 1961 and 1979 respectively. Grand Lake o' the Cherokee in northeast Oklahoma, on the western portion of the Ozark Plateau, was created in 1940 with the damming of the Grand River. Stockton Lake was formed in 1969 by damming the Sac River near the city of Stockton, Missouri , and supplements
6580-423: The plateau. Released as a feature film in 2010, Winter's Bone received the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival , as well as other awards. Several early and influential country-music television and radio programs originated from Springfield in the 1950s and '60s, including ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee and The Slim Wilson Show on KYTV . The Clampett clan of The Beverly Hillbillies TV show provide
6674-447: The processes of contemporary change in the crust and the circulation of the fluid envelopes. It thus draws upon physics for the explanation of the phenomena with the space-relations of which it is specially concerned. Physical geography naturally falls into three divisions, dealing respectively with the surface of the lithosphere – geomorphology; the hydrosphere – oceanography ; and the atmosphere – climatology . All these rest upon
6768-489: The processes that create and change them". Partly due to this confusion over what "physiography" actually means, some scientists have refrained from using the term physiography (and instead use the similar term geomorphology) because the definitions vary from the American Geological Institute's "the study and classification of the surface features of Earth on the basis of similarities in geologic structure and
6862-548: The prominent Roubidoux sandstone and dolomite. The sandstone of the Roubidoux forms prominent bluffs along the streams eroding into the southern part of the Salem Plateau. The Roubidoux and Gunter sandstones serve as significant aquifers when present in the subsurface. The source of the sands is considered to be the emerging Wisconsin Dome to the northeast. The Ozark region remained as a subsiding shallow carbonate shelf environment with
6956-485: The range existed as an island in the Paleozoic seas. Reef complexes occur in the sedimentary layers surrounding this ancient island. These flanking reefs were points of concentration for later ore -bearing fluids which formed the rich lead - zinc ores that have been and continue to be mined in the area. The igneous and volcanic rocks extend at depth under the relatively thin veneer of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and form
7050-560: The region saw hundreds of water-powered timber and grist mills. Mills were important centers of culture and commerce; dispersed widely throughout the region, mills served local needs, often thriving within a few miles of another facility. Few Ozark mills relied on inefficient water wheels for power; most utilized a dam , millrace and water turbine . During the New Deal , the Civilian Conservation Corps employed hundreds in
7144-575: The region. The Ozarks contain ore deposits of lead , zinc , iron and barite . Many of these deposits have been depleted by historic mining activities, but much remains and is currently being mined in the Lead Belt of southeastern Missouri. Historically, the lead belt around the Saint Francois Mountains and the Tri-State district lead-zinc mining area around Joplin, Missouri , have been important sources of metals. Mining practices common in
7238-402: The region. The Tyson Foods corporation and ConAgra Foods each operates several hundred poultry farms and processing plants throughout the Ozarks. Schreiber Foods has operations throughout southern Missouri. The trucking industry is important to the regional economy, with national carriers based there including J. B. Hunt , ABF , and Prime, Inc. Springfield remains an operational hub for
7332-520: The reservoir created by Norfork Dam . The town of Forsyth, Missouri , was relocated in its entirety to a spot 2 miles (3 km) from its previous location. Prior to damming, rivers and streams in the White and Osage River basins were of similar character to the current conditions of the Buffalo , Elk , Niangua , Gasconade , Big Piney , Current , Jacks Fork , Eleven Point and Meramec rivers. Because of
7426-536: The river zigzags southeasterly into Arkansas forming Bull Shoals Lake along the Arkansas-Missouri line. Completed in 1952, Bull Shoals is the furthest downstream lake on the White River proper. Norfork Lake was formed by damming the North Fork River , a tributary of the White River, in 1941. Additional large lakes in the Ozarks region include Lake of the Ozarks , Pomme de Terre Lake , and Truman Lake in
7520-408: The rivers and streams in the Ozarks have been dammed. Most of the dams in the region were initially built for the dual purpose of flood control and hydropower generation but have also become major economic drivers through recreational use in places such as Branson, Missouri, and Mountain Home, Arkansas. The Army Corps of Engineers among others, operates multiple dams in the Ozarks region. Some of
7614-425: The rolling hills. Although much of the Springfield Plateau has been denuded of the surface layers of the Boston Mountains, large remnants of these younger layers are present throughout the southern end of the formation, possibly suggesting a peneplain process. The Springfield Plateau drains through wide, mature streams ultimately feeding the White River. The St. Francois Mountains in the northeastern Ozarks are
7708-520: The southern range. Less than a quarter of the region has been cleared for pasture and cropland. Forests that were heavily logged during the early-to-mid-20th century have recovered; much of the remaining timber in the Ozarks is second-growth forest . However, deforestation of frontier forest contributed through erosion to increased gravel bars along Ozark waterways in logged areas; stream channels have become wider and shallower, and deepwater fish habitat has been lost. The numerous rivers and streams of
7802-574: The success of the Army Corps efforts to dam the large rivers in the Ozarks, the Ozarks Society began protests to keep the other rivers in the Ozarks free flowing. The Buffalo National River was created by an Act of Congress in 1972 as the nation's first National River , administered by the National Park Service . The designation came after over a decade of battling a proposed Army Corps dam in
7896-493: The terminology to describe the regions in which its parks are located. Originally used in North America , the model became the basis for similar classifications of other continents. During the early 1900s, the study of regional-scale geomorphology was termed "physiography". Physiography later was considered to be a portmanteau of " physi cal" and "ge ography ", and therefore synonymous with physical geography , and
7990-434: The topographic expression of structure, and embodies a logical history of oceanic basins, and continental elevations; of mountains , plateaus and plains ; of hills and valleys. Physical geography is used loosely as a synonym, but the term is more properly applied to the borderland between geography and physiography; dealing, as it does, largely with the human element as influenced by its physiographic surroundings". Even in
8084-411: The traditional musicians in the Ozarks, the fiddler holds a distinct place in both the community and folklore. Community fiddlers were revered for carrying local tunes; regionally, traveling fiddlers brought new tunes and entertainment, even while many viewed their arrival as a threat to morality. In 2007, Gordon McCann, a chronicler of Ozarks folklife and fiddle music for over four decades, donated
8178-484: The underlying rocks. The history of "physiography" itself is at best a complicated effort. Much of the complications arise from how the term has evolved over time, both as its own 'science' and as a synonym for other branches of science. In 1848, Mary Somerville published her book Physical Geography which gave detailed descriptions of the topography of each continent, along with the distribution of plant, animals and humans. This work gave impetus to further works along
8272-623: The uplands of the Boston formation, including the Buffalo , Kings , Mulberry , Little Red and White rivers. Topography is mostly gently rolling in the Springfield and Salem plateaus, whereas the Saint Francois Mountains are more rugged. Although the Springfield formation's surface is primarily Mississippian limestone and chert , the Salem Plateau is made of older Ordovician dolomites, limestones, and sandstones. Both are rife with karst topography and form long, flat plains. The formations are separated by steep escarpments that dramatically interrupt
8366-528: The water supply of Springfield in nearby Greene County . The creation of the lakes significantly altered the Ozark landscape and affected traditional Ozark culture through displacement. The streams provided water and power to communities, farms and mills concentrated in the valleys prior to impoundment. Many cemeteries, farm roads, river fords and railways were lost when the lakes came, disrupting rural culture, travel and commerce. Baxter County, Arkansas , alone saw nearly 400 people displaced to make way for
8460-470: The word physiography, a term which appears to have been introduced by Linnaeus , and was reinvented as a substitute for the cosmography of the Middle Ages by Professor Huxley. Although the term has since been limited by some writers to one particular part of the subject, it seems best to maintain the original and literal meaning. In the stricter sense, physical geography is that part of geography which involves
8554-594: Was published in 1877 in Britain . Shortly after, the field of "physical geography" itself was renamed as "physiography". Afterwards, physiography became a very popular school subject in Britain, accounting for roughly 10% of all examination papers in both English and Welsh schools, and physiography was now regarded as an integral, if not the most important aspect of geography. In conjunction with these 'advances' in physiography, physically and visually mapping these descriptive areas
8648-707: Was reclaimed by the government through the Resettlement Administration during the Great Depression . In 1976, Congress established the Hercules Glades Wilderness , the first of 13 designated wilderness areas in the Ozarks. In 1986, Congress established the Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Oklahoma. Protected areas ensure the recovery of endangered and threatened species of animals and plants, including
8742-713: Was the Mel Bay Model made by John D'Angelico as a gift. The guitar had the features of New Yorker, but it was a "cutaway" model with a thinner neck. This guitar has been pictured on the Mel Bay Modern Guitar Method for decades. Mel Bay was still playing guitar every day until his death in 1997 at age 84. Mel Bay received Lifetime Achievement awards from the Guitar Foundation of America , the Retail Print Music Dealers Association, and
8836-641: Was underway as well. The early photographers and balloonists, Nadar and Triboulet, experimented with aerial photography and the view it provided of the landscape. In 1899, Albert Heim published his photographs and observations made during a balloon flight over the Alps; he is probably the first person to use aerial photography in geomorphological or physiographical research. The block diagrams of Fenneman, Raisz, Lobeck and many others were based in part upon both aerial photography and topographic maps, giving an oblique "birds-eye" view. By 1901, there were clear differences in
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