Black bear, coyote, bobcat, deer, cougar, minks, bats, bald eagles (sacred to the Choctaw), varieties of woodpeckers, doves, owls, road runners and 328 vertebrate species are native to this region.

[citation needed] The highly serrated, jagged appearance of the Rockies and other tall mountain ranges may be attributed to their youth.

[citation needed] Numerous of the mountains, particularly those along the Kiamichi River's lower reaches, measure between 700 and 900 feet in elevation.

Local residents generally identify the mountains as those occurring on either side of the Kiamichi River along the full extent of its course, until it flows into the flat coastal plain of southern Oklahoma.

The Talimena Scenic Drive, connecting Talihina, Oklahoma with Mena, Arkansas is a tourist destination during autumn.

[citation needed] Due to the restricted nature of land ownership in the region—with much of it owned by the federal government or timber companies—the Kiamichi Mountains remain rustic, rural, economically undeveloped and with few population centers.

Higher elevations are substantially cooler than the valleys during the day, and tend to receive more precipitation throughout the year.