Encyclopedia
Name = Oklahoma |
Fullname = State of Oklahoma |
Flag = Flag of Oklahoma.svg |
Flaglink =
Flag of Oklahoma |
Seal = Oklahomastateseal.jpg |
Map = Map_of_USA_highlighting_Oklahoma.png |
Nickname = Sooner State |
Motto = Labor omnia vincit |
Capital =
Oklahoma City |
OfficialLang = None |
LargestCity =
Oklahoma City |
Governor = C. Brad Henry |
Senators =
James M. Inhofe Thomas A. Coburn |
PostalAbbreviation = OK |
AreaRank = 20
th |
TotalAreaUS = 69,960 |
TotalArea = 181,196 |
LandAreaUS = 68,735 |
LandArea = 178,023 |
WaterAreaUS = 1,225 |
WaterArea = 3,173 |
PCWater = 1.8 |
PopRank = 27
th |
2000Pop = 3,450,654 |
DensityRank = 35
th |
2000DensityUS = 50.3
Oklahoma City, with a population of 523,303 in the immediate city limits and 1.3 million in the metro area, is the capital and largest city.
Tulsa is the second largest city, with 387,807 within the city limits and 890,000 in the statistical metropolitan area.
Oklahoma's four main mountain ranges include the
Ouachitas,
Arbuckles,
Wichitas, and the Kiamichis. In addition to several smaller ranges, Oklahoma also notably encompasses a portion of the
Ozarks.
In recent years, Oklahoma has become the second largest natural gas-producing state in the nation. Only Texas surpasses Oklahoma in natural gas production.
Forests cover approximately one quarter of Oklahoma's land area.
The state's highest peak, 4,973 feet Black Mesa, resides in the far northwestern corner of the panhandle near the town of Kenton. The lowest elevation in the state is in the far southeastern corner, near Idabel, at 324 feet . Oklahoma also has what is officially considered the highest hill in the world, Cavanal Hill, at 1,999 feet ; this is considering the fact that a "mountain" is anything 2,000 feet or higher. It is located in Poteau, Oklahoma.
With 200 man-made lakes, Oklahoma has more man-made lakes than any other state and boasts over one million surface-acres of water and 2,000 more miles of shoreline than the Atlantic and Gulf coasts combined. Lake Eufaula is the largest lake in the state, covering 102,000 surface acres of water.
Nation's Most Diverse Terrain
According to the
EPA, Oklahoma has the most diverse
terrain in the
United States, calculated on a mile-per-mile basis.
Major climate variations between the western and eastern parts of the state are partly to account for the terrain irregularity.
Oklahoma’s wetter and more mountainous eastern third is home to
oak,
hickory and
pine forests, as well as the ancient
Ouachita Mountains and the Western
Ozark Mountains and their foothills. This portion of the state, often called
Green Country, contains Oklahoma's only
national forests and is anchored economically and culturally by the Tulsa Metropolitan Area and receives upwards from about 40 inches of rainfall each year. The state's largest lakes and more than half of its state parks and recreational areas are found in this area.
Central Oklahoma, anchored by the
Oklahoma City area, is a less forested region dominated the Cross Timbers, with
post oak and blackjack oak forests as well as the southern portion of the
Flint Hills. This region is occupied by intermittent breaks between true prairie and oak forests, compliments of extreme swings between dry and wet weather patterns. The area sees extreme differences in annual rainfall totals the farther east or west.
In western Oklahoma, terrain indicative of the American Southwest brings
mesas and small mountain ranges, such as the mesa-dominated Glass Mountains near
Enid, and the rugged
Wichita Mountains near Lawton, to mesh with the stereotypically semi-arid plains such as those found in Kansas and northern Texas.
Oklahoma regions
From an ecoregional perspective, Oklahoma is recognized by the
EPA as having 11 different ecoregions . These ecoregions are: Western high plains, Southwestern Tablelands, Central
Great Plains, Tall Grass Prairie, Cross Timbers, Caves & Prairie,
Ozark Highlands, Ozark Forest, Hardwood Forest,
Ouachita Mountains, and Cypress Swamps & Forests.
The Oklahoma Tourism Department divides the state down into six "countries" for tourism promotion purposes: Red Carpet Country , Great Plains Country , Frontier Country ,
Green Country ,
Kiamichi country , and Lake & Trail Country .
Popular but "unofficial" regional designations include
Green Country , Little Dixie , Western Oklahoma, and the
Oklahoma Panhandle.
Oklahoma has some of the strongest
thunderstorms in the world because of cold and warm
airmasses colliding east of the
Rocky Mountains plus added force from the
Jet Stream, making the state the heart of
Tornado Alley.
History
American Indians
Oklahoma was inhabited by
American Indian tribes including the Wichita,
Quapaw,
Caddo and
Osage.
The
Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed by
President Andrew Jackson within a year of taking office. This act gave the President the power to negotiate treaties for removal with Indian tribes living east of the
Mississippi River. The treaty called for the Indians to give up their eastern land for land in the west. Those who wished to stay behind were allowed to stay and become citizens in their state. For the tribes that agreed to Jackson's terms, the removal was peaceful; however, those who resisted were forced to leave.
The northern Indian tribes included
Shawnee,
Ottawa,
Potawatomi, Sauk, and
Foxes. Because of their size and fragmentation, relocation was easier than that of the southern tribes.
The
Choctaw, Creek,
Chickasaw,
Seminole, and
Cherokee tribes living in the
Southern United States were considered
civilized because of their adoption of Western customs and in the case of the Cherokee, the development of a
written language, as well as having good relationships with their neighbors.
- The Choctaws signed relocation treaties in September 1830. Those Choctaws that decided to stay in Mississippi were soon cheated of their lands and eventually sold their land and moved west. Creek also refused to relocate and signed a treaty in March 1832 to open up a large portion of their land in exchange for protection of ownership of their remaining lands. The United States failed to protect the Creeks, and in 1837, they were militarily removed without ever signing a treaty. Chickasaws saw the relocation as inevitable and signed a treaty in 1832 which included protection until their move. The Chickasaws were forced to move early as a result of white settlers and the War Department's refusal to protect the Indian's lands. 1833, a small group of Seminoles signed a relocation treaty; however, the treaty was delcared illegitimate by a majority of the tribe. The result was the Second and Third Seminole Wars. Those that survived the wars eventually were paid to move west. Cherokee were tricked with an illegitimate treaty, the Treaty of New Echota of 1833. The Cherokee were given two years to move west or else be forced to move. At the end of the two years only 2,000 Cherokees had migrated westward and 16,000 remained on their lands. The U.S. sent 7,000 soldiers to force the Cherokee to move without the time to gather their belongings. This march westward is known as the Trail of Tears in which 4,000 Cherokee died.
- No religious affiliation - 39.24%
- Southern Baptist – 28.03%
- United Methodist Church – 9.35%
- Catholic Church – 4.89%
- Assemblies of God – 2.56%
- Church of Christ – 2.41%
- Disciples of Christ - 1.56%
- Evangelical Christian Churches - 1.24%
- Church of the Nazarene - 1.06
- Presbyterian Church - 1.02%
Note: Terms shown are the ones used by ARDA; Catholic Church, for instance, versus Roman Catholic Church. The ARDA also notes that their data undercounts traditionally-black churches.Economy
Oklahoma is a major fuel and food-producing state; thousands of oil and natural gas wells dot the Oklahoma landscape, and the state is among the highest food producing states in the nation.
Its main agricultural outputs are soy, wheat, cattle, dairy, poultry, and cotton. Oklahoma ranks fourth in the nation in the production of all wheat, fourth in cattle and calf production; fifth in the production of pecans; sixth in peanuts and eight in peaches.
Its industrial outputs are transportation equipment, machinery, electric products, rubber and plastic products, and food processing.
Its 1999 total gross state product was $86 billion, placing it 29th in the nation.
Its 2000 per capita personal income was $23,517, 43rd in the nation.
Oklahoma City suburb
Nichols Hills is ranked first on Oklahoma locations by per capita income at $73,661.
Oklahoma City is a primary economic engine of the state, centered on the finance, retail, governance, entertainment, and tourism sectors. The city has numerous manufacturing and processing plants as well as a growing biotech research and health center. Oklahoma City has a large aviation market and its location at the intersection of
I-35,
I-40, and
I-44 makes Oklahoma City an important distribution point.
Oklahoma City is home to many corporate and regional headquarters including
Devon, Chesapeake Energy,
Sonic, SBC,
The Hertz Corporation, BancFirst, OGE Energy, Midfirst Bank,
Hobby Lobby,
Dobson Communications, Express Personnel Services, Oklahoma Publishing Company, Globe Life and Accident Insurance,
AOL, Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. and
Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce.
Tulsa is another primary economic engine of the state, centered on energy, aerospace, telecommunications, and transportation. The city has the nation's most inland sea port and Oklahoma's only connection to the ocean, the Tulsa Port of Catoosa , which connects the state with international ocean trade routes through the
Arkansas River and
Mississippi River. Despite an oil bust that plagued the entire state in the 1980's, Tulsa is still among the top cities in the nation for the number of oil and energy related company headquarters. Tulsa is also home to an extensive aviation market, exemplified by its
American Airlines maintenance center, the largest airline maintenance base in the world.
Recently, Forbes magazine rated Tulsa as second in the nation in job income growth, and one of the best 50 cities to do business in the country.
Companies based in Tulsa include The NORDAM Group, BOK Financial Corporation , Bank of Oklahoma,
Williams Companies, Oneok, Wiltel,
QuikTrip, Public Service of Oklahoma, Mazzio's Corporation, Dollar-Thrifty, and Vanguard.
Both of Oklahoma's major metropolitan areas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, are engaged in large-scale economic development and tourism initiatives.
Transportation
Primary interstate highways in Oklahoma include
I-35, which traverses the state from north to south,
I-40, which traverses the state from east to west, and
I-44, which enters Oklahoma in the southwest and leaves the state in the northeast corner. These highways all run through Oklahoma City.
The state's other interstate highways are Interstates 235, 240, 244 and 444.
I-235 is a north-south freeway connecting I-35 and I-44 through the center of Oklahoma City.
I-240 is an east-west freeway serving as a southern bypass of Oklahoma City.
I-244 is a loop that connects downtown Tulsa to I-44, and
I-444, which is unsigned, forms the south and east sides of the "Inner Dispersal Loop" in downtown Tulsa.
Oklahoma is served by two major airports:
- Will Rogers World Airport, Oklahoma City
- Tulsa International Airport
There are also numerous other regional and general aviation airports:
See: List of airports in Oklahoma
Amtrak also operates a daily train between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, Texas, the Heartland Flyer.
Law and government
State government
The
capital of the state is
Oklahoma City and the
Governor of Oklahoma is Brad Henry . Other Executive Branch elected officials include
Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma Mary Fallin ,
Secretary of State of Oklahoma M. Susan Savage , State Auditor and Inspector
Jeff McMahan ,
Attorney General Drew Edmondson ,
State Treasurer Scott Meacham , Superintendent of Public Instruction Sandy Garrett , Labor Commissioner Brenda Reneau , Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland , and the three member State Corporation Commission which currently consists of Bob Anthony , Jeff Cloud , and Denise Bode .
The
Legislature of Oklahoma consists of the
Oklahoma Senate and the
Oklahoma House of Representatives. The Senate has 48 members serving four-year terms, while the House has 101 members with two year terms. The state has term limits for their legislature that restrict any one person to a total of twelve years service in both the House and Senate. In the 2005–2006 state legislature, control is split between the major parties, the Democrats control the Senate while the Republicans control the House . This changes the government's make-up; before the 2004 election the Democrats had controlled both chambers since 1921. Republicans have never controlled the State Senate.
The state's judicial branch consists of the
Oklahoma Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, and 77 District Courts which serve one county apiece. The Oklahoma judiciary also contains two independent courts: a Court of
Impeachment and the
Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary. Oklahoma is unusual in that it has two courts of last resort, the state Supreme Court hears civil cases, and the state Court of Criminal Appeals hears criminal cases . Judges of those two courts, as well as the Court of Civil Appeals are appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the state Judicial Nominating Commission, and are subject to a non-partisan retention vote on a six-year rotating schedule.
Due to Oklahoma's restrictive ballot access laws , no third parties have access to the primary ballots, however the state does have the following active third parties:
Oklahoma Libertarian Party, Green Party of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Constitution Party. There are also organizers from the
Communist Party USA working in the state.
Local governance
The state is divided into 77 counties which deliver local government. Each is governed by a three member commission. Other county elected officials are the tax assessor, clerk, court clerk, treasurer, and sheriff.
Cities and towns are established under the rights granted in the Oklahoma statutes . Towns are municipalities of under 1000 residents, while cities have more than 1000 residents. Major cities are also allowed to form "charter governments," in which the voters choose the form of government they want to use in place of the statutory forms.
Other local government units in Oklahoma include independent and dependent school districts, Technology Center Districts , community college districts, rural fire departments, rural water districts, and other special use districts.
National politics
After the
2000 census the Oklahoma delegation to the
U.S. House was reduced from six to five representatives. For the
109th Congress there are no changes in party strength, and the delegation has four Republicans and one Democrat. Oklahoma's two U.S. senators are
James M. Inhofe and
Tom Coburn . The U.S. Representatives are
John Sullivan of District 1, Dan Boren of District 2, Frank D. Lucas of District 3, Tom Cole of District 4, and Ernest Istook of District 5.
Although there are more registered Democrats in Oklahoma than registered Republicans, it has become a solid Republican state in presidential elections, voting for the Republican in every election since 1968. . In 2004,
George W. Bush carried every county in the state and 65.6% of the vote.
Cities and metropolitan areas
Oklahoma City Metro
Oklahoma City is the principal city of the eight-county
Oklahoma City Metroplex and is the Oklahoma's largest urbanized area. As of 2000, it was the 47th largest metro in the nation, with 1.3 million people. Some of the major cities comprising the Oklahoma City Metro include
Norman,
Edmond, Guthrie,
Moore,
Mustang,
Yukon, and
Shawnee.
Oklahoma City is the capital of Oklahoma, as well as its main civic, business, and entertainment hub. Oklahoma City is steadily recovering from the oil bust that destroyed the city's identity.
Tulsa Metro
Tulsa, an important Southern and Midwest regional economic hub, is the architectural and arts center of the state. It is Oklahoma's second largest urbanized area. As of 2000, it was the 53rd largest metropolitan area in the nation.her important cities
- Bartlesville: Located approximately 50 miles north of Tulsa, Bartlesville is the county seat of Washington County and is home to some of the offices of the former Phillips Petroleum . The city is also home to Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Voice of the Martyrs, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower.
- Broken Arrow: Located just southeast of Tulsa, Broken Arrow is Tulsa's largest suburb and is home to the largest high school in the state. 2004 population estimates show that the city may have crossed the 100,000 threshold and the city is vying with Norman as the third-largest city in the state.
- Enid: Located in the northwestern portion of the state, Enid is the county seat of Garfield County and is home to Vance Air Force Base. The city had a population of 47,000 in 2000. Enid is also the home city of the Oklahoma Storm a USBL professional Basketball team that plays in the 8,000 seat Chisholm Trail Coliseum.
- Lawton: Located approximately 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, Lawton is the county seat of Comanche County and is home to Cameron University.As of the 2000 census Lawton had a population of 92,757. Near the city are Fort Sill, both an active military base and an historic military post, and the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.
- Norman: Located approximately 15 miles south of Oklahoma City, Norman is the county seat of Cleveland County and is vying with Broken Arrow as the third largest city in the state, with just over 99,000 people as of 2003 population estimates. The city is home to the University of Oklahoma and a number of important meteorological and NOAA research facilities, including the Storm Prediction Center and the National Weather Center.
- Ponca City: Located in far north central Oklahoma, approximately 18 miles south of Oklahoma's northern border with Kansas. Home of the ConocoPhillips petroleum refinery -- the state's largest and one of the largest in the southwestern United States.
- Stillwater: Located in north central Oklahoma, approximately equal distance between Tulsa and Oklahoma City along State Highway 51. It is home to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Oklahoma State University. The city had an official population of 39,065 at the time of the 2000 census, however that number has increased substantially and is now estimated near 43,000 full time residents.
Education
Sports
Miscellaneous topics
Culture
The various government sponsored arts, community, and tourism programs emphasize Oklahoma's Native American heritage heavily. There are many central areas of Native American heritage in Oklahoma, including one of the most notable, Tahlequah, which is near Muskogee in Eastern Oklahoma. Native American culture runs deep in the lives of Oklahomans and one may experience it through various cultural programs including pow wows, the Tsa-La-Gi village in Tahlequah, OK and the International Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Other ethnic celebrations include those of Yukon & Prague , Tulsa's Greek Holiday, the Tulsa Scottish Games, Shalomfest , Tulsa's German Oktoberfest, the Mennonite Relief Sale , Italian festivals and neighborhoods in the McAlester and Krebs area, traditional Asian, African American, and
