Arkansas City is a city situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of Cowley County, located in south-central Kansas, in the central United States. The population was 11,963 at the 2000 census. It is the second most populous city of Cowley County. The name of this city is not pronounced like the nearby state of Arkansas, but rather as /ɑrˈkænzəs/ (the final "s" is pronounced). Over the years there has been much confusion about the regional pronunciation of "Arkansas," which locals render as /ɑrˈkænzəs/ rather than /ˈɑrkənsɔː/. Throughout much of Kansas, residents use this alternate pronunciation when referring to the Arkansas River, as well as Arkansas Street in the city of Wichita. Very few people from other states, and even much less from the state of Arkansas, use or have ever heard the anglicized pronunciation. Because of this, and for the sake of brevity, Arkansas City is most often referred to as simply Ark City.