Pine Bluff | ||
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City | ||
City of Pine Bluff | ||
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Motto: "City of Progress" | ||
Location in Jefferson County and the state of Arkansas |
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Location within the contiguous United States of America | ||
Coordinates: 34°13′N 92°1′W / 34.217°N 92.017°WCoordinates: 34°13′N 92°1′W / 34.217°N 92.017°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Arkansas | |
County | Jefferson | |
Township | Vaugine | |
Incorporated | January 8, 1839 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Mayor–Council | |
• Mayor | Shirley Washington (D) | |
• Council | Pine Bluff City Council | |
Area | ||
• City | 121.3 km2 (46.8 sq mi) | |
• Land | 118.1 km2 (45.6 sq mi) | |
• Water | 1.2 km2 (3.2 sq mi) | |
Elevation | 67 m (220 ft) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• City | 49,083 | |
• Density | 404.6/km2 (1,048.8/sq mi) | |
• Metro | 100,258 | |
Time zone | CST (UTC−06:00) | |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC−05:00) | |
ZIP code(s) | 71601, 71602, 71603 | |
Area code(s) | 870 | |
FIPS code | 05-55310 | |
GNIS feature ID | 0078006 | |
Major airport | LIT | |
Website | www.cityofpinebluff.com |
Pine Bluff is the ninth largest city in the state of Arkansas. it is the county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combined Statistical Area. The population of the city was 49,083 in the 2010 Census, however 2011 estimates show the population has since declined to 48,339.
The city is situated in the Southeast section of the Arkansas Delta and straddles the Arkansas Timberlands region to its west. Its topography is flat with wide expanses of farmland consistent with other places in the Delta Lowlands. Pine Bluff is home to a number of creeks, streams, bayous (Bayou Bartholomew is the longest bayou in the world and is the second most diverse stream in the United States), and larger bodies of water such as Lake Pine Bluff, Lake Langhofer (Slack Water Harbor) and the Arkansas River.
Pine Bluff is home to over three-quarters of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Arkansas.
The area along the Arkansas River had been inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous peoples of various cultures. They used the river for transportation like settlers after them, and for fishing. By the time of encounter with Europeans, the historical Quapaw were the chief people in the area, having migrated from the Ohio River valley centuries before.
The city of Pine Bluff was founded by Europeans on a high bank of the Arkansas River heavily forested with tall pine trees. The high ground furnished settlers a safe haven from annual flooding. Joseph Bonne, a Métis fur trader and trapper of mixed Quapaw and French ancestry, settled on this bluff in 1819.