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101-467: The company later known as Kerr-McGee was founded in 1929 as Anderson & Kerr Drilling Company by Oklahoma businessman-politician Robert S. Kerr (1896-1963) and oil driller James L. Anderson. When Dean A. McGee (1904-1989), a former chief geologist for Phillips Petroleum , joined the firm in 1946, it changed its name to Kerr-McGee Oil Industries, Incorporated. The company initially focused mostly on off-shore oil exploration and production, being one of

202-850: A description of the removal of the Choctaw Nation in 1831, although the term is usually used for the Cherokee removal. Seventeen thousand Cherokees and 2,000 of their black slaves were deported. The area, already occupied by Osage and Quapaw tribes, was called for the Choctaw Nation until revised Native American and then later American policy redefined the boundaries to include other Native Americans. By 1890, more than 30 Native American nations and tribes had been concentrated on land within Indian Territory or "Indian Country". All Five Civilized Tribes signed treaties with

303-474: A focal point for the emerging oil industry , as discoveries of oil pools prompted towns to grow rapidly in population and wealth. Tulsa eventually became known as the " Oil Capital of the World " for most of the 20th century and oil investments fueled much of the state's early economy. In 1927, Oklahoman businessman Cyrus Avery , known as the "Father of Route 66", began the campaign to create U.S. Route 66 . Using

404-786: A large visible cloud leaving the plant. Production ceased immediately and the plant operations were suspended to never resume. In 1956 Kerr-McGee formed the Kermac Nuclear Fuels Corporation in partnership with Anderson Development Corp, and Pacific Uranium Mines Co. It was active in New Mexico. Some time in the 1970s, the Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corporation was formed. In 1983 it split into the Quivira Mining Corporation and Sequoyah Fuels Corporation . Quivira got

505-520: A marked decrease in rainfall during June and early July. Mid-summer (July and August) represents a secondary dry season over much of Oklahoma, with long stretches of hot weather with only sporadic thunderstorm activity not uncommon many years. Severe drought is common in the hottest summers, such as those of 1934, 1954, 1980 and 2011, all of which featured weeks on end of virtual rainlessness and highs well over 100 °F (38 °C). Average precipitation rises again from September to mid-October, representing

606-675: A number of mines. It also bought an ore buying station at Shiprock, New Mexico . In 1953 it built a processing plant (called the Shiprock Mill ) near the buying station. In 1963 the mines and mill were sold to the Vanadium Corporation of America . Later a partnership with other companies was formed called the Kermac Nuclear Fuels Corporation. In 1957-58 this partnership built a uranium mill near Grants, New Mexico and Ambrosia Lake . In 1983

707-481: A precise times as each prospective settler literally raced with other prospective settlers to claim ownership of 160 acres (65 ha) of land under the Homestead Act of 1862 . Usually land was claimed by settlers on a first come, first served basis. Those who broke the rules by crossing the border into the territory before the official opening time were said to have been crossing the border sooner , leading to

808-405: A secondary wetter season, then declines from late October through December. The entire state frequently experiences temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) or below 0 °F (−18 °C), though below-zero temperatures are rare in south-central and southeastern Oklahoma. Snowfall ranges from an average of less than 4 in (102 mm) in the south to just over 20 in (508 mm) on

909-507: A statute authorizing the people of the Oklahoma and Indian Territories (as well what would become the states of Arizona and New Mexico ) to form a constitution and state government in order to be admitted as a state. On November 16, 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt issued Presidential Proclamation no. 780 , establishing Oklahoma as the 46th state in the Union. The new state became

1010-465: A stretch of highway from Amarillo, Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma to form the original portion of Highway 66, Avery spearheaded the creation of the U.S. Highway 66 Association to oversee the planning of Route 66, based in his hometown of Tulsa. In late September 1918, the first cases of the Spanish flu appeared in Oklahoma. Though public health authorities statewide had some indication that the pandemic

1111-644: A thriving area. Social tensions were exacerbated by the revival of the Ku Klux Klan after 1915. The Tulsa race massacre broke out in 1921, with White mobs attacking Black people and carrying out a pogrom in Greenwood. In one of the costliest episodes of racist violence in American history , sixteen hours of rioting resulted in the destruction of 35 city blocks, $ 1.8 million in property damage, and an estimated death toll of between 75 and 300 people. By

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1212-672: A tribe required approval by the Secretary of the Interior and the district court agreed, granting the injunction. The tribe appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals . The Ninth Circuit overruled the district court, finding no federal statute or regulation required such approval. Kerr-McGee then appealed to the Supreme Court, which granted certiorari and agreed to hear the case. The court decided unanimously that

1313-496: A warehouse district, Bricktown is now home to hotels, clubs, restaurants, residences, and offices. Bricktown has 329 residents within its 0.27 square miles, a density of 1,219/square mile. City Center is the primary central business district and contains a large concentration of office space and the city's tallest buildings. 2,583 residents live within City Center's 0.53 square miles, a density of 4,874/square mile. Deep Deuce

1414-657: Is Oklahoma City . The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla , 'people' and humma , which translates as 'red'. Oklahoma is also known informally by its nickname , "The Sooner State", in reference to the Sooners , American settlers who staked their claims in formerly American Indian-owned lands until the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 authorized the Land Rush of 1889 opening

1515-641: Is a state in the South Central region of the United States . It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northeast, Arkansas to the east, New Mexico to the west, and Colorado to the northwest. Partially in the western extreme of the Upland South , it is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. Its residents are known as Oklahomans and its capital and largest city

1616-455: Is a mixed-use district home to many restaurants, shops, offices, nightlife, housing, hotels, and medical facilities such as St. Anthony Hospital . Midtown has a population of 2,040 within the district's 0.54 square miles, for a density of 3,778/square mile. West Village is centered on West Main Street and West Sheridan Avenue, just west of City Center. The district is home to the headquarters of

1717-400: Is a residential district located to the north of Bricktown and east of City Center. Centered on NE 2nd Avenue, Deep Deuce was the hub of black culture and commerce. Apartments and condos now make up a majority of the district with a population of 1,384 inside an area of 0.11 square miles for a density of 12,582/square mile. Midtown Oklahoma City is located to the north of City Center. Midtown

1818-462: Is also responsible for many of the tornadoes in the area, such as the 1912 Oklahoma tornado outbreak when a warm front traveled along a stalled cold front, resulting in an average of about one tornado per hour. The humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa ) of central, southern, and eastern Oklahoma is influenced heavily by southerly winds bringing moisture from the Gulf of Mexico . Traveling westward,

1919-569: Is assumed that around 7,500 proved fatal, placing total mortality rates for the state in the area of 7.5%. Oklahoma also has a rich African-American history . Many Black towns, founded by the Freedmen of the Five Tribes during Reconstruction, thrived in the early 20th century with the arrival of Black Exodusters who migrated from neighboring states, especially Kansas. The politician Edward P. McCabe encouraged Black settlers to come to what

2020-538: Is at least partially responsible for large scale perchlorate water contamination first discovered in the Lower Colorado River in 1997; It stemmed from land used by a facility in Henderson, Nevada which was owned and operated by Kerr-McGee Chemical LLC (as of 2011 Tronox LLC), where perchlorate was produced from 1945 until 1998. In May 2007, Kerr-McGee Corp spent $ 18 million on pollution controls in

2121-776: Is divided between Missouri and Arkansas. The Missouri-Oklahoma border is defined as the Meridian passing through the Kawsmouth, where the Kansas River meets the Missouri River. This is the same Meridian as the Kansas-Missouri border. The Oklahoma-Arkansas border was originally defined by two lines: the borders between Arkansas and the Cherokee and Choctaw Reservations. This formed two diagonal lines meeting at

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2222-438: Is located along Broadway just north of City Center. The district historically was home to many of the city's car dealerships of the early 20th century. Automobile Alley now hosts shops and restaurants. Automobile Alley covers .025 square miles with a population of 713 as of the 2020 United States census , a density of 2,852/square mile. Bricktown is an entertainment district located just east of City Center. Initially founded as

2323-615: Is serviced by Embark , the city's public transit agency that operates city buses and the Oklahoma City Streetcar . 21 bus routes converge at the Downtown Transit Center, which had over 2,000 daily boardings in 2019. The streetcar has two routes, the downtown loop at 4.8 miles in length, and the Bricktown loop at 2 miles. Both streetcar loops are wholly contained to downtown. The Santa Fe Depot

2424-601: Is serving life in prison without parole for helping plan the attack and prepare the explosive. On May 31, 2016, several cities experienced record setting flooding . On July 9, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States determined in McGirt v. Oklahoma that the reservations of the Five Tribes, comprising much of Eastern Oklahoma, were never disestablished by Congress and thus are still "Indian Country" for

2525-665: Is the oldest and largest of nine National Wildlife Refuges in the state and was founded in 1901, encompassing 59,020 acres (238.8 km ). Of Oklahoma's federally protected parks or recreational sites, the Chickasaw National Recreation Area is the largest, with 9,898.63 acres (40.0583 km ). Other sites include the Santa Fe and Trail of Tears national historic trails, the Fort Smith and Washita Battlefield national historic sites, and

2626-770: The Ambrosia Lake , NM mine, while Sequoyah Fuels took over the Sequoyah plant in Gore, OK , as well as the Cimarron plant in Crescent, OK . Sequoyah was sold to General Atomics in 1988. and Quivira was sold to Rio Algom in 1989. The Cimarron Corporation was a subdivision that took control of the Cimarron plant in 1988. When Tronox was spun off in 2006, it would get ownership of Cimarron Corporation and responsibility for

2727-555: The American alligator . Oklahoma has fifty-one state parks , six national parks or protected regions, two national protected forests or grasslands , and a network of wildlife preserves and conservation areas. Six percent of the state's 10 million acres (40,000 km ) of forest is public land, including the western portions of the Ouachita National Forest , the largest and oldest national forest in

2828-436: The Choctaw language phrase okla , 'people', and humma , translated as 'red'. Choctaw Nation Chief Allen Wright suggested the name in 1866 during treaty negotiations with the federal US government on the use of Indian Territory . He envisioned an all exclusive American Indian state controlled by the United States bureau of Indian Affairs . Oklahoma later became the de facto name for Oklahoma Territory , and it

2929-554: The Clean Air Act when it installed a new open hearth furnace in 1993. The company spent $ 4.8 million to install proper pollution controls at the facility reducing total carbon monoxide emission by 115 tons per year, an 80% reduction from previous levels. Kerr-McGee was involved in several nuclear endeavors. In 1952 Kerr-McGee bought the Navajo Uranium Mining Company , including an interest in

3030-565: The False Claims Act ("FCA"). In the suit, Mr. Maxwell alleged that, based on the information uncovered during his audit, "Kerr-McGee knowingly made false and/or fraudulent statements on the monthly royalty reports submitted to the MMS and 'understated and underpaid' its federal royalties." In January 2007, after a full trial on the issues, Kerr-McGee was found by a jury to have failed to report earnings, and thus, under-paying royalties due to

3131-841: The Fast Flux Test Facility at the Hanford Site in Washington State. The plant shut down in 1976. In 1967 Kerr-McGee bought the American Potash and Chemical Company , which owned the Rare Earths Facility in West Chicago, Illinois . This facility produced thorium , radium , and uranium by acid leaching of monazite sands and other ores. It stopped work in 1973. In 1968 the company started construction on what would become

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3232-564: The Great Plains near the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states . It is bordered on the east by Arkansas and Missouri , on the north by Kansas , on the northwest by Colorado , on the far west by New Mexico , and on the south and near-west by Texas . Oklahoma's border with Kansas was defined as the 37th Parallel in the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act . This was disputed with the Cherokee and Osage Nations, which claimed their border extended North of this line and could not be part of

3333-808: The Kansas Territory . This was resolved in 1870 with the Drum Creek Treaty , which reestablished Kansas's southern border as the 37th parallel. This also applied to the then No-Man's Land that became the Oklahoma Panhandle . The Oklahoma-Texas border consists of the Red River of the South in the south and the 100th meridian west as the western border between Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. These were first established in

3434-559: The Moroccan controlled area of the disputed territory of Western Sahara in 2001. In 2003, one of Norway's main private investment funds, Skagen Vekst , sold their €3.6 million stake in the oil company, referring to ethical problems surrounding Kerr-McGee's engagement in Western Sahara. In May 2005, despite the number of growing protests, the company renewed the contract signed with Moroccan authorities until October. In June 2005,

3535-547: The Navajo Tribal Council passed two tax ordinances. The first was a tax of 3% on leaseholds (such as mineral rights ) and the second was a 5% tax on business activity. Kerr-McGee held substantial mineral rights on the Navajo Nation and filed a lawsuit in the federal district court seeking an injunction to prohibit the tribe from collecting the tax. Kerr-McGee argued that any tax of non-Indians by

3636-626: The Norwegian government sold the $ 52.7 million it had invested in the company through the Government Petroleum Fund (one of the biggest investment funds of the world), characterizing Kerr-McGee's contract in Western Sahara as having " particularly serious violations of fundamental ethical norms ". That same month, another two Norwegian private investment funds ( Storebrand and KLP ) sold their participations on Kerr-McGee, €1 million and €1.45 million respectively. On May 2, 2006,

3737-489: The Oklahoma City National Memorial . Oklahoma is in a humid subtropical region that lies in a transition zone between semiarid further to the west, humid continental to the north, and humid subtropical to the east and southeast. Most of the state lies in an area known as Tornado Alley characterized by frequent interaction between cold, dry air from Canada, warm to hot, dry air from Mexico and

3838-477: The Oklahoma City metropolitan area and contains the principal, central business district of the region. Downtown has over 80,000 workers and over 13,310,000 sq ft (1,237,000 m ) of leasable office space to-date. Downtown Oklahoma City is the legal, financial, economic, nightlife, and entertainment center of the region. Downtown Oklahoma City consists of several urban districts that ring

3939-969: The Ouachita Mountains , the Arbuckle Mountains , the Wichita Mountains , and the Ozark Mountains . Contained within the U.S. Interior Highlands region, the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains are the only major mountainous region between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians . A portion of the Flint Hills stretches into north-central Oklahoma, and near the state's eastern border, The Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department regards Cavanal Hill as

4040-545: The Sequoyah Fuels Corporation plant in Gore, Oklahoma . In 1970 the plant started turning yellowcake uranium into uranium hexafluoride . In 1987 it began producing depleted uranium tetrafluoride using depleted uranium hexafluoride as input. In 1988 SFC was sold to General Atomics . In late November 1993 production ceased after a stuck valve in the processing plant stuck open and caused an uncontrolled reaction. The uncontrolled reaction resulted in

4141-714: The Southern United States . With 39,000 acres (160 km ), the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in north-central Oklahoma is the largest protected area of tallgrass prairie in the world and is part of an ecosystem that encompasses only ten percent of its former land area, once covering fourteen states. In addition, the Black Kettle National Grassland covers 31,300 acres (127 km ) of prairie in southwestern Oklahoma. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

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4242-399: The Wichita Mountains dot southwestern Oklahoma ; transitional prairie and oak savannas cover the central portion of the state. The Ozark and Ouachita Mountains rise from west to east over the state's eastern third, gradually increasing in elevation in an eastward direction. More than 500 named creeks and rivers make up Oklahoma's waterways, and with 200 lakes created by dams, it holds

4343-512: The fifty largest cities in the United States are in Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and Tulsa , and sixty-five percent of Oklahomans live within their metropolitan areas, or spheres of economic and social influence defined by the United States Census Bureau as a metropolitan statistical area . Oklahoma City, the state's capital and largest city, had the largest metropolitan area in the state in 2020, with 1,425,695 people, and

4444-606: The metropolitan area of Tulsa had 1,015,331 residents. Between 2000 and 2010, the leading cities in population growth were Blanchard (172.4%), Elgin (78.2%), Jenks (77.0%), Piedmont (56.7%), Bixby (56.6%), and Owasso (56.3%). In descending order of population, Oklahoma's largest cities in 2010 were: Oklahoma City (579,999, +14.6%), Tulsa (391,906, −0.3%), Norman (110,925, +15.9%), Broken Arrow (98,850, +32.0%), Lawton (96,867, +4.4%), Edmond (81,405, +19.2%), Moore (55,081, +33.9%), Midwest City (54,371, +0.5%), Enid (49,379, +5.0%), and Stillwater (45,688, +17.0%). Of

4545-470: The (higher-elevation) panhandle average 58 °F (14 °C), with annual rainfall under 17 in (430 mm). Over almost all of Oklahoma, winter is the driest season. Average monthly precipitation increases dramatically in the spring to a peak in May, the wettest month over most of the state, with its frequent and not uncommonly severe thunderstorm activity. Early June can still be wet, but most years see

4646-506: The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the ruling of the lower court, remanding it back for further proceedings. On September 16, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Marcia S. Krieger of Colorado ordered Kerr-McGee to pay treble damages, or almost $ 23 million. As a whistle-blower under the FCA, Mr. Maxwell would be entitled to twenty-five percent of the amount recovered for the government, or approximately $ 5.7 million. Per Mr. Maxwell, however, most of

4747-449: The 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty between the United States and Spain. The Oklahoma panhandle was originally part of the Panhandle of the Republic of Texas, but when Texas joined the Union as a slave state, it could not retain any lands north of 36 degrees 30 minutes, as specified in the Missouri Compromise . The Panhandle existed as a no-man's land until 1907 when Oklahoma acquired the territory upon gaining statehood. Oklahoma's Eastern border

4848-498: The 1970s the company had a forest products division, and mineral mining in New Mexico, Arizona, and Idaho, and coal mining in Wyoming and Illinois. Most of the U.S operations were on land owned by the U.S. government (i.e. Bureau of Land Management , National Forest) and the Navajo Indian tribe. Kerr-McGee owned a potash operation in California from 1974 to 1990. Kerr-McGee had exploration, development, and production projects in Bohai Bay, China, near Beijing . Additional exploration

4949-409: The Arkansas River and the Poteau River. This became the site of a smuggling camp called "Coke Hill", noted mostly for its importance in cocaine smuggling. After Petitioning congress to hand over jurisdiction, the 57 acres was given to Arkansas in 1905. The 1985 US Supreme Court Case Oklahoma v. Arkansas decided the land would remain Arkansas, even though the Choctaw had not been notified or asked about

5050-516: The Central Business District; including the retail oriented A-Alley , the Arts District , the Bricktown Entertainment District, the Deep Deuce residential neighborhood, and the Flatiron District . Unofficial/new areas of downtown OKC include "Lower Bricktown", MidTown urban neighborhood, SOSA (South of Saint Anthony 'hospital'), WestTown, Film Row urban district, Farmer's Market, and the new Downtown South "Core-2-Shore" neighborhoods. Much of downtown Oklahoma City's six districts are overlaid with

5151-528: The Confederate military during the American Civil War . The Cherokee Nation had an internal civil war. Slavery in Indian Territory was not abolished until 1866. In the period between 1866 and 1899, cattle ranches in Texas strove to meet the demands for food in eastern cities and railroads in Kansas promised to deliver in a timely manner. Cattle trails and cattle ranches developed as cowboys either drove their product north or settled illegally in Indian Territory. In 1881, four of five major cattle trails on

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5252-430: The Downtown OKC Business Improvement District . Downtown Oklahoma City is the location of the founding of the city when the area was opened for settlement in the Land Rush of 1889 . Beginning in the 1960s, downtown Oklahoma City underwent a major urban renewal initiative known as the Pei Plan . Over 500 buildings were demolished as a result. Downtown Oklahoma City is divided into six districts. Automobile Alley

5353-706: The Mississippi River, a route for cattle drives from Texas and related regions, and a destination for Southern settlers. There are currently 26 Indigenous languages spoken in Oklahoma . According to the 2020 U.S. census, 14.2 percent of Oklahomans identify as American Indians , the highest indigenous population by percentage in any state. A major producer of natural gas, oil, and agricultural products, Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahoma's primary economic anchors, with nearly two-thirds of Oklahomans living within their metropolitan statistical areas . The name Oklahoma comes from

5454-487: The Navajo Nation had the right to tax Kerr-McGee because tribal authority to tax had already been recognized, and because no federal law prohibited exercising tribal sovereignty in enacting a tax. Main oil and gas operations in the US were the Mid-Continent, Rocky Mountains, onshore Louisiana, and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Main offices were located in downtown Denver and the Greenspoint area of Houston. Corporate headquarters were located in Downtown Oklahoma City . In

5555-459: The Oklahoma City Police Department. West Village covers an area of 0.16 square miles and has a population of 884, a density of 5,525/square mile. Since the mid-1990s, residential housing has made a significant rebound in downtown Oklahoma City as numerous projects have been completed with many more proposed or are currently in development in each district. Examples of the various residential communities available today include: Downtown Oklahoma City

5656-509: The Southwestern U.S., and warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. The interactions between these three contrasting air currents produces severe weather (severe thunderstorms, damaging thunderstorm winds, large hail and tornadoes) with a frequency virtually unseen anywhere else on planet Earth. An average 62 tornadoes strike the state per year—one of the highest rates in the world. Because of Oklahoma's position between zones of differing prevailing temperature and winds, weather patterns within

5757-438: The U.S. In 1995, Oklahoma City was the site of the most destructive act of domestic terrorism in American history. The Oklahoma City bombing of April 19, 1995, in which Timothy McVeigh detonated a large, crude explosive device outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building , killed 168 people, including 19 children. For his crime, McVeigh was executed by the federal government on June 11, 2001. His accomplice, Terry Nichols ,

5858-416: The U.S. government. The jury award damages in the amount of US$ 7.6 million. Despite the jury's verdict, however, before entering judgment, the court reconsidered an earlier Motion for Summary Judgement filed by Kerr-McGee and reversed its prior holding, this time determining that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case at all. The case was appealed by Mr. Maxwell, and on September 10, 2008,

5959-432: The acts was the forced assimilation of Indians into white society. Land not allotted to individual Indians was owned by the U.S. government and sold or distributed to settlers and railroads. The proceeds of the land sales were used to educate Indian children and advance the policy of assimilation. As a result of the two acts about one-half of land previously owned by Indian tribes was owned by whites by 1900. Moreover, much of

6060-508: The agreement required Kerr-McGee to pay a $ 200,000 penalty , and spend $ 250,000 on environmental projects to benefit the areas in which violations occurred. In July 2005, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) settled with Kerr McGee Chemical in Henderson, Nevada that required the company to pay $ 55,392 penalty to resolve air permitting violations at its facility that began in 1993. The EPA cited Kerr-McGee for failing to install carbon monoxide emissions controls required under

6161-409: The assumption of $ 2.6 billion in debt. Kerr-McGee shareholders approved the offer on August 10, 2006, and Kerr-McGee ceased to exist independently. All operations with the exception of Tronox which had been spun off in 2005 moved out of Oklahoma . Within a few years, the top positions at Anadarko had been filled by Kerr-McGee employees and many long-time Anadarko employees had left or been removed from

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6262-408: The base of operations in Denver , Colorado and added large resource areas throughout the Rocky Mountains . Until 2005, Kerr-McGee had two major divisions: chemical and oil-related. On November 21, 2005, its chemical division, based in Oklahoma City, was sold as an IPO , Tronox , thereby making Oklahoma City home to the administrative side of Kerr-McGee, while exploration and production management

6363-399: The border of Colorado in the panhandle. The state is home to the Storm Prediction Center , the National Severe Storms Laboratory , the Warning Decision Training Division , and the Radar Operations Center , all part of the National Weather Service and in Norman . Oklahoma had 598 incorporated places in 2010, including four cities over 100,000 in population and 43 over 10,000. Two of

6464-492: The climate transitions progressively toward a semiarid zone (Köppen BSk ) in the high plains of the Panhandle and other western areas from about Lawton westward, less frequently touched by southern moisture. Precipitation and temperatures decline from east to west accordingly, with areas in the southeast averaging an annual temperature of 62 °F (17 °C) and an annual rainfall of generally over 40 in (1,020 mm) and up to 56 in (1,420 mm), while areas of

6565-403: The company declared its intention to no longer drill off the coast of the Western Sahara, by not renewing the contract signed with Morocco. On June 14, 2004, Bobby Maxwell, a senior government auditor for the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service ("MMS"), filed suit in federal court on behalf of the U.S. Government against Kerr-McGee, under the whistle-blowing provisions of

6666-408: The company, making the merger between Anadarko and Kerr-McGee a "wag the dog" transaction. Kerr-McGee v. Navajo Tribe , 471 U.S. 195 (1985), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that an Indian tribe is not required to obtain the approval of the Secretary of the Interior in order to impose taxes on non-tribal persons or entities doing business on a reservation. In 1978,

6767-463: The environmental liabilities inherited from KMC. In 2009 purchasers of Tronox filed a class action lawsuit against Anadarko for having allegedly misled investors. In the US, nuclear companies must get licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission . Kerr-McGee licenses follow: Oklahoma Oklahoma ( / ˌ oʊ k l ə ˈ h oʊ m ə / OHK -lə- HOH -mə ; Choctaw : Oklahumma , pronounced [oklahómma] )

6868-432: The first companies to use drillships in the Gulf of Mexico, and later one of the first companies to use a Spar platform in the area. With the acquisition of the Oryx Energy Company of Dallas , Texas in 1999, Kerr-McGee gained more onshore assets, as well as significant assets in several foreign areas in Algeria and western Kazakhstan . Later acquisitions of HS Resources and Westport Resources Corp. established

6969-475: The first comprehensive settlement under the Clean Air Act that reduced harmful emission and conserved natural gas at production facilities across Utah and Colorado . The settlement addressed violations discovered at several of Kerr-McGee's natural gas compressor stations located on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation near Vernal, Utah , and in the Denver Julesburg Basin near Weld County, Colorado . In addition to implementing pollution controls,

7070-415: The land allotted to individual Indian heads of families became white-owned. Allottees often sold or were fraudulently deprived of their land. The acquisition of tribal lands by the U.S. government led to land runs , also called "land rushes," from 1887 and 1895. Major land runs, including the Land Rush of 1889 , opened up millions of acres of formerly tribal lands to white settlement. The "rushes" began at

7171-404: The land to settlement. With ancient mountain ranges, prairie, mesas , and eastern forests, most of Oklahoma lies in the Great Plains , Cross Timbers , and the U.S. Interior Highlands , all regions prone to severe weather. Oklahoma is at a confluence of three major American cultural regions . Historically, it served as a government-sanctioned territory for American Indians moved from east of

7272-661: The late 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan had declined to negligible influence within the state. During the 1930s, parts of the state began to suffer from the consequences of poor farming practices. This period was known as the Dust Bowl , throughout which areas of Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and northwestern Oklahoma were hampered by long periods of little rainfall, strong winds, abnormally high temperatures, and most notably, severe dust storms sending thousands of farmers into poverty and forcing them to relocate to more fertile areas of

7373-480: The low wetlands of its southeastern boundary. Its highest and lowest points follow this trend, with its highest peak, Black Mesa , at 4,973 feet (1,516 m) above sea level, situated near its far northwest corner in the Oklahoma Panhandle . The state's lowest point is on the Little River near its far southeastern boundary near the town of Idabel , which dips to 289 feet (88 m) above sea level. Among

7474-681: The mill was taken over by a new Kerr-McGee subsidiary called the Quivira Mining Corporation . Quivira was sold to Rio Algom in 1989. Kerr-McGee purchased the Lakeview Mining Company of Lake County, Oregon in 1961. The plant was shut down in late 1960 or 1961 and sold to Atlantic Richfield in 1968. From about 1962-1966 Kerr-McGee processed uranium at its oil refinery site in Cushing, Oklahoma . It received licenses in 1962 for processing uranium and thorium, and in 1963 for enriched uranium . In 1966 it stopped production. An attempt

7575-434: The money awarded would go to pay the legal fees associated with his almost-10-year fight to force Kerr-McGee to change its deceptive practices and pay what it owed to the public. It is alleged that Karen Silkwood was negligently or purposefully contaminated with plutonium while working at Kerr-McGee's Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site and investigating safety violations at the plant. Her activism and November 1974 death were

7676-515: The most geographically diverse states, Oklahoma is one of four to harbor more than 10 distinct ecological regions , with 11 in its borders—more per square mile than in any other state. Its western and eastern halves, however, are marked by extreme differences in geographical diversity: Eastern Oklahoma touches eight ecological regions and its western half contains three. Although having fewer ecological regions Western Oklahoma contains many rare, relic species. Oklahoma has four primary mountain ranges:

7777-623: The nation's highest number of artificial reservoirs. Most of the state lies in two primary drainage basins belonging to the Red and Arkansas Rivers, though the Lee and Little Rivers also contain significant drainage basins. Due to Oklahoma's location at the confluence of many geographic regions, the state's climatic regions have a high rate of biodiversity. Forests cover 24 percent of Oklahoma and prairie grasslands composed of shortgrass, mixed-grass, and tallgrass prairie , harbor expansive ecosystems in

7878-492: The nation's largest prairie dog towns inhabit shortgrass prairie in the state's panhandle. The Cross Timbers , a region transitioning from prairie to woodlands in Central Oklahoma, harbors 351 vertebrate species . The Ouachita Mountains are home to black bear , red fox , gray fox , and river otter populations, which coexist with 328 vertebrate species in southeastern Oklahoma. Also in southeastern Oklahoma lives

7979-403: The plant as well. Kerr-McGee bought the American Potash and Chemical Company in 1967, including its Rare Earths Facility that processed uranium and thorium. AMPOT became Kerr-McGee Chemical Company around 1970 or 1974. In 2005 this became Tronox . Tronox became independent in 2006, a few months before Kerr-McGee was sold to Anadarko Petroleum . Tronox later went bankrupt, blaming in part

8080-762: The purposes of criminal law. Later decisions by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals also found the Quapaw Nation, Ottawa Tribe, Peoria Tribe, and Miami Tribe also had existing reservations. The Osage Nation is awaiting for a possible appellate decision after a district judge had ruled that the Osage reservation was disestablished. Oklahoma is the 20th-largest state in the United States, covering an area of 69,895 square miles (181,030 km ), with 68,591 square miles (177,650 km ) of land and 1,304 square miles (3,380 km ) of water. It lies partly in

8181-427: The state can vary widely over relatively short distances, and they can change drastically in a short time. On November 11, 1911, the temperature at Oklahoma City reached 83 °F (28 °C) (the record high for that date), then a cold front of unprecedented intensity slammed across the state, causing the temperature to reach 17 °F (−8 °C) (the record low for that date) by midnight. This type of phenomenon

8282-603: The state in 1541, but French explorers claimed the area in the early 18th century. By the 18th century, Comanche and Kiowa entered the region from the west and Quapaw and Osage peoples moved into what is now eastern Oklahoma. French colonists claimed the region until 1803, when all the French territory west of the Mississippi River was acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase . The territory

8383-518: The state's southeastern quarter , while mixtures of largely post oak , elm , red cedar ( Juniperus virginiana ), and pine forests cover northeastern Oklahoma . The state holds populations of white-tailed deer , mule deer , antelope , coyotes , mountain lions , bobcats , elk , and birds such as quail , doves , cardinals , bald eagles , red-tailed hawks , and pheasants . In prairie ecosystems, American bison , greater prairie chickens , badgers , and armadillo are common, and some of

8484-643: The state's central and western portions, although cropland has largely replaced native grasses. Where rainfall is sparse in the state's western regions, shortgrass prairie and shrublands are the most prominent ecosystems, though pinyon pines , red cedar ( junipers ), and ponderosa pines grow near rivers and creek beds in the panhandle's far western reaches. Southwestern Oklahoma contains many rare, disjunct species , including sugar maple , bigtooth maple , nolina , and Texas live oak . Marshlands , cypress forests, and mixtures of shortleaf pine , loblolly pine , blue palmetto , and deciduous forests dominate

8585-403: The state's ten largest cities, three are outside the metropolitan areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and only Lawton has a metropolitan statistical area of its own as designated by the United States Census Bureau, though the metropolitan statistical area of Fort Smith, Arkansas extends into the state. Downtown Oklahoma City Downtown Oklahoma City is located at the geographic center of

8686-599: The state, with a subgroup, the Panhandle culture people, living in the panhandle region. Caddoan Mississippian culture peoples lived in the eastern part of the state. Spiro Mounds , in what is now Spiro, Oklahoma , was a major Mississippian mound complex that flourished between AD 850 and 1450. Plains Apache people settled in the Southern Plains and in Oklahoma between 1300 and 1500. The expedition of Spaniard Francisco Vázquez de Coronado traveled through

8787-453: The subject of the 1983 film Silkwood . In a civil suit against Kerr-McGee by the Estate of Karen Silkwood, Judge Frank Theis told the jury, "If you find that the damage to the person or property of Karen Silkwood resulted from the operation of this plant, Kerr-McGee is liable." The jury rendered its verdict of $ 505,000 in damages and $ 10,000,000 in punitive damages. On appeal, the judgment

8888-663: The term sooners , which eventually became the state's official nickname. George Washington Steele was appointed the first governor of the territory of Oklahoma in 1890. Attempts to create an all-Indian state named Oklahoma and a later attempt to create an all-Indian state named Sequoyah failed but the Sequoyah Statehood Convention of 1905 eventually laid the groundwork for the Oklahoma Statehood Convention, which took place two years later. On June 16, 1906, Congress enacted

8989-672: The territory being handed over. Therefore, the Poteau River serves as the Oklahoma-Arkansas boundary for approximately 1 mile, reducing the Choctaw Reservation and later Oklahoma by 57 acres as established in the treaties of the early 1800s. Oklahoma is between the Great Plains and the Ozark Plateau in the Gulf of Mexico watershed, generally sloping from the high plains of its western boundary to

9090-569: The western United States. Over a twenty-year period ending in 1950, the state saw its only historical decline in population, dropping 6.9 percent as impoverished families migrated out of the state after the Dust Bowl. Soil and water conservation projects markedly changed practices in the state, leading to the construction of massive flood control systems and dams to supply water for domestic needs and agricultural irrigation. As of 2024, Oklahoma had more than 4,700 dams, about 20% of all dams in

9191-592: The western edge of Fort Smith Arkansas, with one line running northeast from the Red River and the other running southeast from the Oklahoma-Arkansas-Missouri border. The Choctaw-Arkansas border was established in the 1820 Treaty of Doak's Sand , and later refined in the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek . These treaties left a 57-acre exclave of the Choctaw reservation bounded by Arkansas,

9292-657: The western frontier traveled through Indian Territory. Increased presence of white settlers in Indian Territory and their demand for land owned and guaranteed to Indian tribes by treaties with the U.S. government prompted the United States to enact the Dawes Act in 1887 and the Curtis Act of 1898 . The acts abolished tribal governments, eliminated tribal ownership of land, and allotted 160 acres (65 ha) of land to each head of an Indian family. An objective of

9393-544: The world's tallest hill; at 1,999 feet (609 m), it fails their definition of a mountain by one foot. The semi-arid high plains in the state's northwestern corner harbor few natural forests; the region has a rolling to flat landscape with intermittent canyons and mesa ranges like the Glass Mountains . Partial plains interrupted by small, sky island mountain ranges like the Antelope Hills and

9494-686: Was a part of the Arkansas Territory from 1819 until 1828. During the 19th century, the U.S. federal government forcibly removed tens of thousands of American Indians from their ancestral homelands from across North America and transported them to the area including and surrounding present-day Oklahoma. The Choctaw was the first of the Five Civilized Tribes to be removed from the Southeastern United States . The phrase " Trail of Tears " originated from

9595-597: Was located in Denver and Houston. Through acquisitions, for a time Kerr-McGee marketed products under the Deep Rock, Coast, Power, and Peoples brands in addition to its own. It also marketed Blue Velvet motor oil, a multiviscosity grade with a blue dyed anti-wear additive. On June 23, 2006, Anadarko Petroleum , based in The Woodlands, Texas , purchased Kerr-McGee in an all-cash transaction totaling $ 16.5 billion plus

9696-504: Was made to move all regulated nuclear material to the company's new Cimarron facility at Crescent, OK. Cleanups were attempted in 1966, 1972, 1979–82, and the 1990s In about 1965 Kerr-McGee started producing uranium fuel at its Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site . This was located near the Cimarron River and Crescent, Oklahoma . From 1973 to 1975 it would also produce mixed Plutonium-Uranium Oxide (MOX) 'driver fuel pins' for use in

9797-474: Was officially approved in 1890, two years after that area was opened to American settlers . Indigenous peoples were present in what is now Oklahoma by the last ice age . Ancestors of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (including Teyas and Escanjaques and Tawakoni ), Tonkawa , and Caddo (including Kichai ) lived in what is now Oklahoma. Southern Plains villagers lived in the central and west of

9898-613: Was planned for the South China Sea. These operations were run primarily from an office in Beijing . Kerr-McGee and its subsidiaries formerly operated in western Kazakhstan , western Australia, Brazil , Trinidad , Benin , the United Kingdom and several other more minor locations around the world at various times. Kerr-McGee received international criticism for undertaking exploration for hydrocarbon resources offshore

9999-469: Was reduced to $ 5,000. In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court restored the original verdict ( Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. , 464 U.S. 283 (1984)). The suit was headed for retrial when Kerr-McGee settled out of court in 1986 for $ 1.38 million, admitting no liability. Gerry Spence , the noted trial lawyer from Jackson Hole, Wyoming , represented the Karen Silkwood estate in this litigation. Kerr-McGee

10100-478: Was then Indian Territory. McCabe discussed with President Theodore Roosevelt the possibility of making Oklahoma a majority-Black state. By the early 20th century, the Greenwood district of Tulsa was one of the most prosperous African-American communities in the United States. Jim Crow laws had established racial segregation since before the start of the 20th century, but Tulsa's Black residents had created

10201-517: Was westward, the turmoil caused by the rapid advancement of the disease quickly overwhelmed both health workers and local governing bodies. In Oklahoma City, shortages of both supplies and personnel were mitigated, in part, by the mobilization of the American Red Cross. Rough estimates based on contemporary reports indicate that approximately 100,000 people fell ill with the disease before the pandemic ebbed in 1919. Of those 100,000 cases, it

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