The Ozarks, often called the Ozark Plateau, stretch across southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, and parts of Oklahoma and Kansas. Unlike young mountain ranges formed by recent uplift, the Ozarks are an ancient highland shaped by long periods of erosion acting on uplifted sedimentary rock. Rivers carved deep valleys into limestone and dolomite, creating rugged ridges, springs, and extensive cave systems. Karst features such as sinkholes and underground streams are common because water dissolves