All About Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a constituent state of the United States of America. In its land and its people, Oklahoma is a state of contrast and of the unexpected. The terrain varies from the rolling, timbered hills of the east, where the state borders Missouri and Arkansas, to the treeless high plains that extend into Texas and New Mexico to the west. Oklahoma's east central region is dominated by the lowlands of the Arkansas River, sweeping in from Colorado and Kansas on the north, and by the Red River, which forms nearly all of its southern border with Texas. Oklahoma covers an area of 69,956 square miles (181,186 square kilometres). The capital is Oklahoma City.
The word Oklahoma is derived from two Choctaw Indian words: okla, people, and humma, red. During the 19th century the future state was a symbol of one of the least glorious chapters in American history, becoming known as Indian Territory, the dumping ground for Indian tribes displaced by white settlers' ever-increasing hunger for land. Since its admission in 1907 as the 46th state of the Union, however, Oklahoma has achieved an integration of its Indian citizens into modern economic and social life that probably is unmatched by any other state. There is no reservation in the usual sense for the Indian population. Though numbers of ''blanket Indians'' may possess no more than their bedrolls, others have risen to positions of distinction. Many share in the great wealth that oil resources have brought to the state.
Once basically agricultural - and the Dust Bowl locale of John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath - Oklahoma now has hundreds of lakes and a diversified economy. The customs of the Deep South are maintained in the habits and attitudes of southern Oklahoma - Little Dixie - despite the decline in cotton production. The customs of the wheat growers in the north, however, reflect their largely Kansan origins.
Three of the nation's large physical regions extend into or across the state. The Interior Highlands is in the east; the Coastal Plain, extending through Texas to the Gulf of Mexico, is in the south; and the Interior Plains, including the Central Lowland and Great Plains, cover the remainder. Ten subregions lie within Oklahoma. Three are mountainous and in the south - the Ouachita, Arbuckle, and Wichita mountains - and are characterized by rough topography and thin soils; lumbering, grazing, some farming, and mining are their principal economic activities. The northeastern Ozark Plateau, most of which lies in Missouri and Arkansas, has rough terrain and small fields devoted primarily to growing fruits and vegetables. Once important as a lead and zinc producer, the plateau has a Cherokee heritage and beautiful rivers that make it a major recreation and tourist attraction.
Oklahoma is one of the nation's younger states, and its economy is not as balanced as those of older, more prosperous areas of the country. There has in the past been overdependence on agriculture and petroleum, but the efforts of state and local officials to attract new forms of industry have shown some success. Oklahoma remains somewhat of an economic satellite of the industrial North and East, furnishing food, raw materials, and fuels. Despite great efforts to diversify - for example, the manufacture of transportation equipment has become important - the state still has far to go.
Oklahoma has a wide variety of recreational opportunities and actively seeks tourists from other states. Parks range from mountainous to arid land. Among popular natural features are the Little Sahara Recreation Area and Great Salt Plains and Quartz Mountain state parks. Not the exclusively arid state that some imagine, Oklahoma has an active program of water impoundment and now boasts canoe trails, fishing tournaments, and more shoreline than the Atlantic coast. There are also many ethnic celebrations, as well as nationally known college teams in American football, basketball, and wrestling.
Oklahoma's transportation facilities help account for its favourable record in attracting new industry. The state has well-developed networks of roads and highways and of railroads. Tulsa and Oklahoma City act as the major collection and distribution points. Several airlines provide direct flights for passengers and freight to most cities. Intricate networks of pipelines move the petroleum products, and a barge system links Tulsa to the Gulf of Mexico by way of locks and dams on the Arkansas River.
