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is a city in Crawford County in the western part of the U.S. state of Arkansas, along I-40 about 13 miles from the Oklahoma border. The city was founded in 1871, and named after the Nephite prophet Alma the Younger, from the Book of Mormon. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of Alma is 4,734, making it the sixth largest city in the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.0 square miles (12.9 km²), of which 4.8 square miles (12.5 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) is water.
Alma has no airport, and the train station, which fell into a state of dilapidation, was torn down in the early 1970s. Much of its commerce derives from interstate highway traffic, as Interstates 40 and 540, as well as U.S. Routes 64 and 71, pass through the city.
The city gets its water supply from Lake Alma, which is perched above the city on the northeast, held back by a tall earthen dam that blocks Little Frog Bayou. Lake Alma is the reservoir that supplies the city's tap water, which is often tainted by algae levels in the lake. There are many other manmade ponds along the many streams that cut through the area's rolling hills.
Alma sits along the border between the Boston Mountains and the Arkansas River Valley, so while most of the city lies on flat land, immediately to the north is scenic hill country. Alma is surrounded by several rural towns as well, including Rudy to the north, Dyer and Mulberry to the east, and Kibler to the southwest.