Oklahoma

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State of Oklahoma

Flag of Oklahoma Seal of Oklahoma Also called: Sooner State Saying(s): Labor omnia vincit
Official language(s)	None
Capital	Oklahoma City
Largest city	Oklahoma City
Area	Ranked 20th
- Total	69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)
- Width	230 miles (370 km)
- Length	298 miles (480 km)
- % water	1.8
- Latitude	33°35'N to 37°N
- Longitude	94°29'W to 103°W
Number of people	Ranked 27th
- Total (2000)	3,450,654 [1]
- Density	50.3 [1]/sq mi  30.5/km² (35th)
Height above sea level
- Highest point	Black Mesa[2] 4,973 ft  (1,515 m)
- Average	1,296 ft  (395 m)
- Lowest point	Little River[2] 289 ft  (88 m)
Became part of the U.S.	November 16, 1907 (46th)
Governor	C. Brad Henry (D)
U.S. Senators	James M. Inhofe (R) Thomas A. Coburn (R)
Time zones
- most of state	Central: UTC-6/-5
- Kenton	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Abbreviations	OK Okla. US-OK
Web site	www.ok.gov

Oklahoma (pronounced /ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/)^[3] is a state that is in the South Central area of the United States of America. It has about 3,579,212 people living there in 2006. It has a land area of about 68,667 square miles (177,847 km²).^[1] Oklahoma is the 28th most populated and 20th-largest state. Its name is comes from the Choctaw words okla and humma, which mean "land of the red man".^[4] It is known sometimes by its nickname, The Sooner State. The state was formed from Indian Territory on November 16, 1907. It was the 46th state to become part of the United States. The people who live in the state are known as Oklahomans. The state's capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

The state is an large maker of natural gas, oil and food. It has a large economic part in aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology.^[5] It has one of the fastest growing economies in the nation, with the third in income growth and leads in gross domestic product growth.^[6][7] Oklahoma City and Tulsa are Oklahoma's main economic areas, with almost 60 percent of Oklahomans living in their metropolitan statistical areas.^[8]

It has small mountain ranges, prairies, and eastern forests. Most of Oklahoma is in the Great Plains. It is regularly hit by severe weather.^[9] With a heavy influence of German, Irish, British and Native American heritage, more than 25 Native American languages are spoken in Oklahoma. That is more than any other state.^[10] It is located in three main American cultural regions. Long ago it was used as a path for cattle drives, a place for southern settlers, and a government-made territory for Native Americans. Part of the Bible Belt, there is a large belief in evangelical Christianity. It is one of the most politically conservative states, though voter sign up is largest for the Democratic Party.^[11]

History

Oil wells like this one brought many people to Oklahoma.

Although Oklahoma has only been a state for nearly 101 years its history goes back much further. Spear points from the Clovis Indians have been found near Anadarko dating back 11,000 years. The Spiro Mound Builders were the state's first permanent settelers.^[12] In 1541 the Spanish explorer Coranado traveled through Oklahoma while in search of the Lost City of Gold.^[13] During the 1830s the Five Civilized Tribes were forced to march from the southeastern United States to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) on the Trail of Tears. ^[14] During the the American Civil War several Indian tribes sided with the Confederacy because they owned slaves also. On April 22, 1890 the western part of the state was opened to alomst 50,000 settelers for the Oklahoma Land Run. During this land run Oklahoma got it's nickname, "The Sooner State", from the settelers who crossed the territory's borders before the land was opened by the government. A year later the western part of the territory was turned into Oklahoma territory and the northeastern part that was home to the five civilized tribes stayed under their control.^[15][16] On Noveber 16, 1907 the western and eastern territories joined together and became the 46th state of the United States.^[15]

The newly formed state became an important place for the oil industry, as the finding of oil pools allowed towns to grow very fast in the number of people who lived there. Tulsa in time became known as the "Oil Capital of the World" for most of the 20th century, and oil contributed to much of the state's early economy.^[17] In 1927, Oklahoma businessman Cyrus Avery, known as the "Father of Route 66", began a movement to make U.S. Route 66. Using an already made length of highway from Amarillo, Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma to make the original portion of Highway 66, Avery was the main person responsible for the making of the U.S. Highway 66 Association to watch over the planning of Route 66, located in his hometown of Tulsa.^[18]

Naming history

The name Oklahoma comes from the Choctaw phrase okla humma, which means red people. Choctaw Chief Allen Wright gave it that name in 1866 during treaty talks with the federal government about the use of Indian Territory. He dreamed of an all-Indian state with power held by the United States Superintendent of Indian Affairs. The same as the English word Indian, okla humma was a phrase in the Choctaw language used to describe the Native American race all together. Oklahoma later became the de-facto name for Oklahoma Territory, and it was officially accepted in 1890, two years after the area was opened to white settlers.^[4][19][20]

Geography

A map showing Oklahoma's physical features.

Oklahoma is the 20th-largest state in the United States. it covers an area of 69,898 square miles (181,035 km²) (68,667 square miles (177847 km²) are land and 1,231 square miles (3,188 km²) are water).^[21] It is one of six states on the Frontier Strip. It is partly in the Great Plains near the center of the 48 continental states. It touches Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.

The highest point in the state is Black Mesa, found in the Panhandle at 4,973 feet. The lowest point is Little River just east of Idabel in the southeast part of the state at 289 feet above sea level. There are four mountain ranges in Oklahoma the Ouachita, Arbuckle, Wichita and Kiamichi, all of them are found in the southern part of the state. Forests make up around 24 percent of the state.^[22] The state is also known for having more man made lakes than any other state in the country, which is over one million surface-acres of water.^[23]

Weather

A thunderstorm over downtown Tulsa.

Oklahoma is in a temperate area of the country and somtimes sees extreme temperatures and rain usual found in a continental climate.^[24] Most of the state is in an area known as Tornado Alley because of alot of contact between cold and warm air masses making severe weather.^[25] An average 54 tornadoes happen in the state each year wich is one of the highest rates in the world.^[26]

All of the state frequently have temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) or below 0 °F (−18 °C),^[24] and it snows an average of less than 4 inches (10 cm) in the south, to just over 20 inches (51 cm) on the border of Colorado in the panhandle.^[25] The state is home to the National Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service in Norman.^[27]

Cities and towns

Oklahoma City is the state's capital and largest city by population and land area.

Oklahoma had 549 populated places in 2006, three cities over 100,000 in population and 40 over 10,000. Two of the fifty largest cities in the United States are in Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and 58 percent of Oklahomans live in the two cities.^[30][8] Oklahoma City, the state's capital and largest city, had 1,269,907 people living inside its metropolitan area. Tulsa the second largest city had a metropolian area population of 905,755.^[31]

Tulsa is the state's second largest city by population and land area.

Between 2005 and 2006, the Tulsa suburbs of Jenks, Bixby, and Owasso led the state in population growth, showing percentage increases of 47.9, 44.56, and 34.31, in that order.^[32]

Oklahoma's largest cities in 2007 were: Oklahoma City (547,274), Tulsa (384,037), Norman (106,707), Lawton (91,568), Broken Arrow (90,714), Edmond (78,226), Midwest City (55,935), Moore (51,106). Of the state's ten largest cities, three are not in the metropolitan areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and only Lawton has a metropolitan area of its own.^[32]

Oklahoma law says that populated areas are broken into two groups: cities, areas having more than 1,000 people, and towns, with under 1,000 people. Both have legislative, judicial, and public power inside their populated areas, but cities can choose between a mayor-council, council-manager, or strong mayor form of government, but towns run through an elected officer system.^[33]

Sports

Oklahoma has minor league sports teams in basketball, football, arena football, baseball, soccer, and hockey, which are in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Enid, and Lawton. Tulsa is home to the Tulsa 66ers wich are part the NBA Development League and the Tulsa Revolution, playing in the American Indoor Soccer League.^[34] The NBA's New Orleans Hornets became the first major league sports team to play in Oklahoma after the team was forced to move to Oklahoma City's Ford Center for two seasons after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.^[35] In July 2008, the Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City and said they would play there games at the Ford Center under a new team name which has yet to be named, becoming the state's first permanent major league franchise.^[36]

State symbols

Oklahoma's state bird the scissortail flycatcher.

Oklahoma's state insect the honeybee.

Main article: list of Oklahoma state symbols

Oklahoma's state symbols are recognized by state law;^[37] the Oklahoma Senate or House of Representatives may add others for special events and to help organizations.

State symbols:^[38]

• State bird: Scissortail flycatcher
• State tree: Eastern Redbud
• State mammal: American Bison
• State beverage: Milk
• State game bird: Wild Turkey
• State fish: Sandbass
• State floral emblem: Mistletoe
• State flower: Oklahoma Rose
• State wildflower: Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchellum)
• State grass: Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans)
• State rock: Rose rock
• State insect: Honeybee
• State soil: Port Silt Loam
• State reptile: Collared Lizard
• State amphibian: Bullfrog
• State butterfly: Black Swallowtail
• State song: "Oklahoma!"

References

	State of Oklahoma Oklahoma City (capital)
Topics	History | Politics | Government | Governor (List) | Symbols | People | Geography | Economy | Sports | Demographics
Regions	Arklatex | Central | Cherokee Outlet | Cross Timbers | Four State Area | Flint Hills | Green Country | Kiamichi Country | Little Dixie | Northwestern | Ouachita Mountains | The Ozarks | Panhandle | South Central | Southwestern
Largest cities	Broken Arrow | Edmond | Enid | Lawton | Midwest City | Moore | Norman | Oklahoma City | Stillwater | Tulsa
Counties	Adair | Alfalfa | Atoka | Beaver | Beckham | Blaine | Bryan | Caddo | Canadian | Carter | Cherokee | Choctaw | Cimarron | Cleveland | Coal | Comanche | Cotton | Craig | Creek | Custer | Delaware | Dewey | Ellis | Garfield | Garvin | Grady | Grant | Greer | Harmon | Harper | Haskell | Hughes | Jackson | Jefferson | Johnston | Kay | Kingfisher | Kiowa | Latimer | Le Flore | Lincoln | Logan | Love | Major | Marshall | Mayes | McClain | McCurtain | McIntosh | Murray | Muskogee | Noble | Nowata | Okfuskee | Oklahoma | Okmulgee | Osage | Ottawa | Pawnee | Payne | Pittsburg | Pontotoc | Pottawatomie | Pushmataha | Roger Mills | Rogers | Seminole | Sequoyah | Stephens | Texas | Tillman | Tulsa | Wagoner | Washington | Washita | Woods | Woodward