The Ouachita River is a 605-mile-long river that runs south and east through the US states of Arkansas and Louisiana, joining the Tensas River to form the Black River near Jonesville, Louisiana. The river, named for the Ouachita tribe, begins in the Ouachita Mountains near Mena, Arkansas, flowing east into Lake Ouachita. The river was explored by the Spaniard Hernando de Soto in 1540, and the river was used as a route by the Cherokee during the Trail of Tears. During the 1830s, the Ouachita River valley attracted land speculators from New York and southeastern cities due to its rich soil and its elaborate river steamboat network, which ran along the Red River to Shreveport. Starting in the 1830s, farmers cultivated land along the river for large cotton plantations. The river continues to be utilized for commercial navigation.
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