The largest city in northeast Arkansas, Jonesboro is on Crowley's Ridge, the long, narrow ridge of loess (fine, windblown, yellowish loam) that stretches 150 miles from the Missouri line to Helena, more or less parallel to the Mississippi River. Rice, cotton, soybean, wheat, and livestock processing, manufacturing, and shipping are the principal businesses of this community; education and medicine are also important. Hunting and fishing are popular in this area.