What Oklahoma is known for

Oklahoma is home to more Native Americans than any other state. Its name comes from two prominent Indian words of the Choctaw tribe and means "red people." There are approximately 3,963,516 residents in the state. About 75 percent of these people are white, or of European descent, 20 percent is Native American and Hispanic, and the remaining 5 percent contains a diversity of many ethnic groups. The majority of the Native American population live in the eastern part of the state, though large groups are still spread through much of the central area.[2]

Oklahoma is known for being rich in oil resources and has suitable terrain and soil for agriculture. It produces large amounts of wheat, cotton, hay, and peanuts. Livestock is also a large portion of the state's agriculture and many ranchers live there. Additionally, Oklahoma has a large economy in natural gas production. Overall, the state relies heavily on agriculture, farming, oil, and natural gas to fuel its economy.[2]

Oklahoma is home to many museums. One of its more popular museums is the Route 66 museum. The state hosts the most extensive stretch of the famous Route 66 within its borders. At the Route 66 museum, tourists can learn about the history of the road, automobiles throughout history, and 50's diners. Another well-known museum is the Science Museum of Oklahoma where visitors can learn about Outerspace, with exhibits of old space crafts and an authentic mercury capsule simulator used by astronauts to train.[4] A nationally famous museum in the state is the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. On the outside is the memorial for the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995. Inside the building, events and tragedies across the nation are recounted and pay respect to survivors, rescuers, and victims.[3]

There are 35 state parks in Oklahoma and seven national recreational areas and historic sites. In the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, visitors have many opportunities to fish, boat, hike, swim, camp, and bike. The Santa Fe National Historic Trail and the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail are also open to the public.[3] The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum is another popular attraction in Oklahoma where people can learn more about the wild west. There is also the National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians and the Southern Plains Indians Museum. At either of these attractions, visitors can discover the many different Native American cultures and tribes that lived throughout the country and in the area. To add to the immersive experience, there are many recreated buildings, and even a small village, representing what life would have been like as a Native American centuries ago.[1]

Geography

Oklahoma is part of the southwest region or the Great Plains region in the United States of America. Texas borders the state to the south, with Arkansas and Missouri to the east. New Mexico lies to the west, and Colorado and Kansas are to the north. The highest point in Oklahoma is the Black Mesa, at 4,973 feet above sea level. The state is typically flat and mostly made of plains, prairies, and small hills. A small group of mountains are located in the southeast, called the Ouachita mountains, along with another range close by called the Kiamichi mountains. The region in the north is called "Green Country," where extensive forests of evergreens and man-made bodies of water support a variety of wildlife. The state has the most reservoirs of any state in the country.[5]

Tulsa is located in the northern region and is the second-largest city in Oklahoma. The west and central area are more prairie-like with the Great Plains through most of the midwest. Oklahoma City is the state's capital city and is located near its center. Major rivers that run through the area include the Arkansas River and the Red River.[5] 


The climate varies across Oklahoma, with the panhandle area typically experiencing the hottest and coldest temperatures in the state. Summers are hot in much of the western side and quite warm everywhere else. The average summer temperatures are somewhere in the high eighties and low nineties, lasting from June to September. Tornados are a frequent weather hazard in the state. On average, 53 tornadoes are reported throughout the year. Most of the tornadoes occur during the spring—April and May—and usually during the mid-afternoon when weather conditions in Oklahoma are typically harsher. The winters are cold and windy and generally last from November to February. During the cold season, temperatures rarely get below 17 degrees but may feel cooler due to the wind. The average snowfall in most of the state is two inches each winter month. In the panhandle, depending on the year's climate, it may have twice the precipitation. Often tourists visit the state during the summer months, late spring, and early fall.[6]
The state animal of Oklahoma is the bison, and the state bird is the scissor-tailed flycatcher. Other animals that can be found in the region include white-tailed deer, nine-banded armadillo, wapiti, North American river otter, northern mocking bird, European starling, great egret, common box turtle, northern cottonmouth, North American racer, channel catfish, white crappie, spotted gar, and spotted bass. The state flower is the mistletoe, and the tree is the redbud. Other plants include the Texas paintbrush, eastern redcedar, inland wood oats, boxelder, chinkapin oak, Illinois bundle flower, rose vervain, common blue-violet, and the hairy ruellia.[7]

History

Oklahoma was once home to many different Native American tribes due to its prominent hunting grounds for bison and deer. The Apache, Arapaho, Caddo, Comanche, Kiowa, Osage, and Wichita lived in the area for hundreds, even thousands, of years. The Oklahoma region was first explored by the Spanish as far back as 1541. The first explorer was Fransisco Vasquez de Cornado. In search of gold, the Spanish explorer left the land with no success. A century later, French explorers, such as Robert de La Salle, visited the land. He claimed the land for the French and established fur trading posts on major rivers in the region.[8]

Fur trading continued in the area until the 1830s, when Native Americans were forced into the Oklahoma region. On May 28, 1830, the Indian Removal Act led more groups of Indians to be compacted into Oklahoma setting new boundaries and establishing the region as Indian territory. As more of these people were forced into the area and put on reserves with sparse rations and help from the US government, the Indians began to attack settlements and expand their borders to old hunting grounds. Escalations rose to a war known as the Red river war, which transpired from June 27, 1874, to June 1875. Following the war, the Native Americans of the southern plains continued to lose land, and Oklahoma opened up to new settlements.[8]

In 1887 The Dawes Severalty Act was put in place and was made to break up the somewhat communal land of the Indians into smaller, more distinct tribal lands. The act gave settlers greater opportunities to settle in Oklahoma with less land for the Native Americans. In 1889, this portion of the state officially opened up for legal settlement. The event is called "The Land Run." Many cattle ranchers and farmers waited on the border of the area, and when a gun was shot, they raced into the region to freely claim their stake of land. Some people went into the region before the gun sounded and were called "Sooners;" this is how Oklahoma got its nickname as the "Sooner State."[8]

In 1890, Oklahoma officially became a territory of the country and began promoting larger settlements. Nearly two decades later, on November 16, 1907, it became the 46th state to join the United States of America. In 1910 Oklahoma city became the state capitol.[8]

During both world wars, the Choctaw Native American tribe was the first to help with coded transmissions and messages. Many other Indian tribes also helped with the war effort. In 1926, construction began on route 66, which eventually became a major road traveling from east to west nicknamed "The Mainstreet of America." In 1935 During the height of the great depression, Oklahoma struggled economically as the dust bowl struck, destroying most of Oklahoma's and Kansas's agricultural land. By 1938 Oklahoma and the surrounding area had lost 5 inches of tops soil due to dust storms.[8]