Arkansas state department %28 VideoArkansas state department Arkansas state department Arkansas%2C constituent state of the United States of America. Arkansas ranks 29th among the 50 states in total area%2C but%2C except for Louisiana and Hawaii%2C it is the smallest state west of the Mississippi River. Its neighbours are Missouri to the north%2C Tennessee and Mississippi to the east%2C Louisiana to the south%2C Texas to the southwest%2C and Oklahoma to the west. The name Arkansas was used by the early French explorers to refer to the Quapaw people%E2%80%94a prominent indigenous group in the area%E2%80%94and to the river along which they settled. The term was likely