Interesting thread OP.

at the foot of Mt. Magazine flows a river called Petit Jean or "little john". There is evidence of pre-columbian european visitations in this area. The Petit Jean river was dammed to form Blue Mountain lake. Mount Nebo is just to the Northeast overlooking the Arkansas River. There is a state park on top of Magazine as well as Nebo. The geology of these moutains is different than the ozarks to the north. Magazine and Nebo are the northmost outcrop of the Ouachita Mountains, which are folded ridges. Hot Springs is 50 miles or so to the south.

The strange thing about Blue Mountain, Nebo, and Magazine is they are sentinels, rising above the relatively flat river bottoms around them. The caves on these mountains are not limestone drip caverns like in the ozarks...they are instead dry voids formed from the folding. Some are quite large, but not very deep.

I have a book called "lost treasures of the ozarks". Very interesting read.

The Ark of the Covenant is not mentioned however.