Oklahoma (English pronunciation: /ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/, pronounced /oklajóma/ in Spanish) is one of the fifty states that, together with Washington D.C., form the United States of America. Its capital and most populous city is Oklahoma City. It is located in the southern region of the country, in the Central Southwest division. It is bordered to the north by Kansas, to the northeast by Missouri, to the east by Arkansas, to the south by Texas —the eastern half of this border is formed by the Red River— and to the northwest by New Mexico and Colorado. It was the fifth latest to be admitted to the Union, on November 16, 1907, as the 46th state, ahead of New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii, the latest.
Its informal nickname is The Sooner State (in 1889, Indian Territory was opened to settlers, and land was awarded to those who came first, on the signal, from the frontier and by wagon to claim it; they were called sooners).
Oklahoma is a major producer of natural gas, petroleum, and a variety of foods. Oklahoma’s economy is based on aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. It is one of the fastest-growing economies in the U.S., the third-largest state in per capita income, and the leader in gross national product growth. Oklahoma City and Tulsa are the main engines of the state’s economy, concentrating almost 60% of the population in their metropolitan areas.2 The state of Oklahoma has significant powers in the administration of education and health care. In addition, its largest universities participate in NCAA and NAIA sports competitions, while two of its athletic clubs are among the most successful in the United States.
With low mountain ranges, grasslands and forests in the west, most of Oklahoma lies between the Great Plains and the Highlands, a region especially prone to harsh weather. Oklahoma’s population is predominantly German, Irish, British and Native American. More than 25 Native American languages are spoken in Oklahoma, more than in any other state.
It is located at the confluence of three major cultural regions of the United States and historically served as a cattle route, a destination for southern settlers, and a territory for Native Americans. It is part of the Bible Belt, where evangelical Christianity is widespread, making it one of the most politically conservative states.
ETYMOLOGY
The name Oklahoma comes from the Choctaw phrase okla humma, which literally means «red people.» Choctaw Chief Allen Wright suggested this name in 1866 during negotiations for the treaty with the federal government regarding the use of Indian Territory, which provided for the entire Indian state to be controlled by the United States Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Equivalent to the word «Indian,» okla humma was a Choctaw phrase used to describe Native Americans as a whole. Oklahoma later became the de facto name for Oklahoma Territory. In 1890, the name was officially approved, and two years later the area was opened to white settlers.
Physical geography
Oklahoma is the 20th largest state in the United States; it covers an area of 181,035 km², with 177,847 km² of land, and 3,188 km² of water. It is one of six states in the Boundary Belt that separates the Highlands and the Great Plains, near the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states. It is bordered to the east by Arkansas and Missouri, to the north by Kansas, to the northwest by Colorado, to the far west by New Mexico, and to the south and west by Texas.
Topography
Oklahoma is situated between the Great Plains and the Ozark Mountains on the watershed of the Gulf of Mexico,[17] and is generally sloped from the high plains of its western boundary to the low, marshy areas of its southeastern boundary. Its highest and lowest points follow this trend, with its highest peak, Black Mesa, at 5,000 feet (1,516 m), located in the corner bordering New Mexico. The state’s lowest point is at the Little River on its southeastern border, which is 280 feet (88 m) above sea level.
The state has four major mountain ranges: the Ouachita Mountains, the Arbuckle Mountains, the Wichita Mountains, and the Ozark Mountains. The American Highlands region, which contains the Ozark Mountains and the Ouachita Mountains, is the only major mountain region between the Rockies and the Appalachians. A portion of the Flint Hills extends across north-central Oklahoma. More than 500 rivers and streams constitute Oklahoma’s watershed, and it has about 200 lakes created by dams. It has the largest number of reservoirs in the nation.
Oklahoma is among the most geographically diverse states and is one of only four that are home to more than 10 different ecological regions. It contains eleven within its borders, more per square mile than any other state by a wide margin. Marked by differences in geographic diversity between the western and eastern halves, eastern Oklahoma has eight ecological regions, while the western half has three.
Most of the state lies primarily in two watersheds, the Red River and the Arkansas River, but the Lee River and Little River also have significant watersheds. In the northwestern part of the state, the high semiarid plains harbor few natural forests, with flat landscapes, intermittent canyons, and mesas such as the Crystal Mountains. The plains are partially interrupted by small mountain ranges such as the Antelope Hills and Wichita Mountains in the southwest. Transitional grasslands and forests cover the central part of the state. The Ozark and Ouachita Mountains rise from west to east over the eastern third of the state, which gradually increases in elevation as you go east.
WILDLIFE
Forests cover 24 percent of Oklahoma, and shortgrass prairies, forbs, and grasslands support expansive ecosystems in the central and western parts of the state, although farm crops have largely replaced the original pastures.
Where rainfall is low, as in the western part, shortgrass prairies and scrub are the primary ecosystem, although pinyon pines, junipers, and ponderosa pines grow near rivers and in stream beds at the western end of the panhandle. Marshes, mixed cypress forests, loblolly pine, and deciduous forests dominate the southeastern part of the state, while oak, elm, cedar, and pine forests cover northwestern Oklahoma.
The state supports populations of Virginia deer, coyotes, bobcats, elk, and birds such as quail, doves, cardinals, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, and pheasants. American bison, prairie chickens, badgers, and armadillos are common in grassland ecosystems, and some of the largest populations of prairie dogs inhabit the western edge of the state. The Cross Timbers, a transitional forest region on the central Oklahoma prairie, is home to 351 vertebrate species. The Ouachita Mountains are home to black bears, red foxes, gray foxes, and river otters, which coexist with a total of 328 vertebrate species in southeastern Oklahoma.
Protected Areas
Oklahoma has 50 state parks, six national parks or protected regions, two protected national forests, and a network of wilderness preservation and conservation areas. Six percent of the state’s 40,000 square kilometers of forests are public lands, including the western portion of the Ouachita National Forest, the largest and oldest of the southern United States’ national forests. At 158 square kilometers, the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in north-central Oklahoma is the largest protected prairie area in the world and is part of an ecosystem that covers only 10 percent of its former area, which spanned 14 states. In addition, the Cibola National Forest covers 127 square kilometers of prairie in southwestern Oklahoma. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is the oldest and largest of the state’s nine national wildlife refuges, having been established in 1901, covering 238.8 square kilometers. Of the federally protected parks or recreation sites, Chickasaw National Recreation Area is the largest, at 7 square miles (18 km²). Other federally protected sites include the Santa Fe Trail and Trail of Tears National Historic Trails, the Fort Smith Historic Sites, the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial, honoring the victims of the April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City bombing.