Misplaced Pages

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74-455: At the beginning of the 18th century, the Tawakoni lived in villages in what is now Oklahoma and Texas . In his 1719 expedition, French explorer Jean Baptiste Bénard de La Harpe encountered a Tawakoni village in present-day Muskogee County, Oklahoma . The French wrote that the Tawakoni raised maize and tobacco. La Harpe negotiated a peace treaty between the Tawakoni, eight other tribes, and

148-850: 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

222-474: 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

296-520: 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

370-493: A new tribal government. The Tawakonis' name translates to "river bend among red sand hills." Their name has been also spelled as Touacara, Tahwaccaro, Tahuacaro, or Towoccaro, Tehuacana, as well as Towakoni. Some French explorers called them the "Three Canes" or Troiscanne. Lake Tawakoni in Texas was named for this tribe. East Tawakoni, West Tawakoni and Quinlan, Texas are cities around this large lake. Also out of its dam comes

444-481: 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

518-405: 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

592-507: 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

666-465: 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

740-644: 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

814-657: 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

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888-641: 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

962-7561: Is a complete list of all 50 U.S. states , its federal district ( Washington, D.C. ) and its major territories ordered by total area, land area and water area. The water area includes inland waters , coastal waters , the Great Lakes and territorial waters . Glaciers and intermittent bodies of water are counted as land area. Area by state, federal district or territory [ edit ] Land, water and total area by U.S. state, district or territory, sortable State / territory Total area Land area Water area sq mi km sq mi km sq mi km % [REDACTED]   Alaska 665,384 1,723,337 570,641 1,477,953 94,743 245,383 14.2% [REDACTED]   Texas 268,596 695,662 261,232 676,587 7,365 19,075 2.7% [REDACTED]   California 163,695 423,967 155,779 403,466 7,916 20,501 4.8% [REDACTED]   Montana 147,040 380,831 145,546 376,962 1,494 3,869 1.0% [REDACTED]   New Mexico 121,590 314,917 121,298 314,161 292 757 0.2% [REDACTED]   Arizona 113,990 295,234 113,594 294,207 396 1,026 0.3% [REDACTED]   Nevada 110,572 286,380 109,781 284,332 791 2,048 0.7% [REDACTED]   Colorado 104,094 269,601 103,642 268,431 452 1,170 0.4% [REDACTED]   Oregon 98,379 254,799 95,988 248,608 2,391 6,191 2.4% [REDACTED]   Wyoming 97,813 253,335 97,093 251,470 720 1,864 0.7% [REDACTED]   Michigan 96,714 250,487 56,539 146,435 40,175 104,052 41.5% [REDACTED]   Minnesota 86,936 225,163 79,627 206,232 7,309 18,930 8.4% [REDACTED]   Utah 84,897 219,882 82,170 212,818 2,727 7,064 3.2% [REDACTED]   Idaho 83,569 216,443 82,643 214,045 926 2,398 1.1% [REDACTED]   Kansas 82,278 213,100 81,759 211,754 520 1,346 0.6% [REDACTED]   Nebraska 77,348 200,330 76,824 198,974 524 1,356 0.7% [REDACTED]   South Dakota 77,116 199,729 75,811 196,350 1,305 3,379 1.7% [REDACTED]   Washington 71,298 184,661 66,456 172,119 4,842 12,542 6.8% [REDACTED]   North Dakota 70,698 183,108 69,001 178,711 1,698 4,397 2.4% [REDACTED]   Oklahoma 69,899 181,037 68,595 177,660 1,304 3,377 1.9% [REDACTED]   Missouri 69,707 180,540 68,742 178,040 965 2,501 1.4% [REDACTED]   Florida 65,758 170,312 53,625 138,887 12,133 31,424 18.5% [REDACTED]   Wisconsin 65,496 169,635 54,158 140,268 11,339 29,367 17.3% [REDACTED]   Georgia 59,425 153,910 57,513 148,959 1,912 4,951 3.2% [REDACTED]   Illinois 57,914 149,995 55,519 143,793 2,395 6,202 4.1% [REDACTED]   Iowa 56,273 145,746 55,857 144,669 416 1,077 0.7% [REDACTED]   New York 54,555 141,297 47,126 122,057 7,429 19,240 13.6% [REDACTED]   North Carolina 53,819 139,391 48,618 125,920 5,201 13,471 9.7% [REDACTED]   Arkansas 53,179 137,732 52,035 134,771 1,143 2,961 2.1% [REDACTED]   Alabama 52,420 135,767 50,645 131,171 1,775 4,597 3.4% [REDACTED]   Louisiana 52,378 135,659 43,204 111,898 9,174 23,761 17.5% [REDACTED]   Mississippi 48,432 125,438 46,923 121,531 1,509 3,907 3.1% [REDACTED]   Pennsylvania 46,054 119,280 44,743 115,883 1,312 3,397 2.8% [REDACTED]   Ohio 44,826 116,098 40,861 105,829 3,965 10,269 8.8% [REDACTED]   Virginia 42,775 110,787 39,490 102,279 3,285 8,508 7.7% [REDACTED]   Tennessee 42,144 109,153 41,235 106,798 909 2,355 2.2% [REDACTED]   Kentucky 40,408 104,656 39,486 102,269 921 2,387 2.3% [REDACTED]   Indiana 36,420 94,326 35,826 92,789 593 1,537 1.6% [REDACTED]   Maine 35,380 91,633 30,843 79,883 4,537 11,750 12.8% [REDACTED]   South Carolina 32,020 82,933 30,061 77,857 1,960 5,076 6.1% [REDACTED]   West Virginia 24,230 62,756 24,038 62,259 192 497 0.8% [REDACTED]   Maryland 12,406 32,131 9,707 25,142 2,699 6,990 21.8% [REDACTED]   Hawaii 10,932 28,313 6,423 16,635 4,509 11,678 41.2% [REDACTED]   Massachusetts 10,554 27,336 7,800 20,202 2,754 7,134 26.1% [REDACTED]   Vermont 9,616 24,906 9,217 23,871 400 1,035 4.2% [REDACTED]   New Hampshire 9,349 24,214 8,953 23,187 397 1,027 4.2% [REDACTED]   New Jersey 8,723 22,591 7,354 19,047 1,368 3,544 15.7% [REDACTED]   Connecticut 5,543 14,357 4,842 12,542 701 1,816 12.6% [REDACTED]   Puerto Rico 5,325 13,791 3,424 8,868 1,901 4,924 35.7% [REDACTED]   Delaware 2,489 6,446 1,949 5,047 540 1,399 21.7% [REDACTED]   Northern Mariana Islands 1,976 5,117 182 472 1,793 4,644 90.7% [REDACTED]   Rhode Island 1,545 4,001 1,034 2,678 511 1,324 33.1% [REDACTED]   U.S. Virgin Islands 733 1,898 134 348 599 1,550 81.7% [REDACTED]   American Samoa 581 1,505 76 198 505 1,307 86.9% [REDACTED]   Guam 571 1,478 210 543 361 935 63.2% [REDACTED]   District of Columbia 68 177 61 158 7 19 10.3%   Minor Outlying Islands 16 41 16 41 0 0 0.0%   Contiguous US 3,120,428 8,081,869 2,954,843 7,653,006 165,589 428,865 5.3%   50 States 3,796,676 9,833,342 3,531,846 9,147,436 264,834 685,907 7.0%   50 States and DC 3,796,744 9,833,519 3,531,907 9,147,594 264,841 685,926 7.0%   United States 3,805,927 9,857,306 3,535,932 9,158,022 269,995 699,284 7.1% [REDACTED] U.S. states by total area [REDACTED] U.S. states by land area [REDACTED] U.S. states by water area [REDACTED] U.S. states by water percentage [REDACTED] Alaska

1036-462: 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,

1110-569: 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

1184-776: 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

1258-601: 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

1332-431: Is the largest state by total area, land area, and water area. It is the seventh-largest country subdivision in the world. [REDACTED] The area of Alaska is 18% of the area of the United States and equivalent to 21% of the area of the contiguous United States . [REDACTED] The second largest state, Texas , has only 40% of the total area of the largest state, Alaska. [REDACTED] Rhode Island

1406-665: 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

1480-418: Is the smallest state by total area and land area. [REDACTED] San Bernardino County is the largest county in the contiguous U.S. and is larger than each of the nine smallest states; it is larger than the four smallest states combined. [REDACTED] Michigan is second (after Alaska) in water area, and first in water percentage. [REDACTED] Florida is mostly a peninsula, and has

1554-555: 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

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1628-436: 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

1702-564: 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

1776-808: 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

1850-489: 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

1924-969: 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

1998-499: The Sabine River which flows through northeast Texas and even works as the eastern border of Texas (From Center to Port Arthur, Texas ). Tehuacana Creek, Tehuacana Hills, and Tehuacana, Texas are also named for this tribe, though using a Spanish spelling. Oklahoma Oklahoma ( / ˌ oʊ k l ə ˈ h oʊ m ə / OHK -lə- HOH -mə ; Choctaw : Oklahumma , pronounced [oklahómma] )

2072-714: 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

2146-399: 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

2220-512: 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

2294-606: 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

Tawakoni - Misplaced Pages Continue

2368-470: 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

2442-632: 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

2516-581: The 1820s, and disease and warfare had dramatically reduced their numbers. Stephen F. Austin 's Republic of Texas drove the tribes out from central Texas. The Tawakoni helped convince the Comanche and the Wichita to sign a peace treaty with the United States government, which became the first treaty signed between Plains Indians and the US. In 1835, they signed a treaty with the United States at Camp Holmes. This

2590-679: The 2010 census, unlike previous years, as the U.S. Census Bureau no longer collects data on the Minor Outlying Islands. References [ edit ] ^ "State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates" . census.gov . 2010 . Retrieved December 2, 2023 . ^ "Census 2000 Geographic Terms and Concepts" , Census 2000 Geography Glossary , U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 10, 2007 . ^ "United States Summary: 2000, Population and Housing Unit Counts" (PDF) . United States Census Bureau. April 2004. p. 1 (Table 1). Archived from

2664-645: 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

2738-507: The Beautiful quarters Snowiest places Symbols Tallest buildings Temperature extremes Time zones [REDACTED] Category [REDACTED] Commons [REDACTED] Portals Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_area&oldid=1256009828 " Categories : United States geography-related lists Lists of subdivisions of

2812-776: 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

2886-616: The French government. Hostilities with the Osage pushed the tribe south into Texas. In Texas, the Tawakoni were closely allied with the Waco tribe . Until 1770, they were friendly to the French but hostile to the Spanish. Chief Quiscat traveled to San Antonio in 1772 to try to make peace with the Spanish, but this did not have a lasting effect. European-American settlers fought with the tribes in

2960-774: 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

3034-621: 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

Tawakoni - Misplaced Pages Continue

3108-555: The Tawakoni settled on a reservation in 1872 between the Canadian and Washita Rivers . Although these tribes resisted the allotment policy outlines in the Dawes Act , their reservation was broken into individual allotments, and "surplus" lands were opened to non-Native settlers on August 6, 1901. In 1894, 126 Tawakoni people were recorded. Under the 1934 Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act , they joined other Wichita peoples in organizing

3182-490: 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 ,

3256-432: 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

3330-855: 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

3404-492: 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

3478-415: 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

3552-404: 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

3626-661: 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

3700-480: 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

3774-515: 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:

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3848-623: 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

3922-492: 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

3996-401: The original (PDF) on February 3, 2017 . Retrieved December 28, 2023 . ^ "United States Summary: 2010, Population and Housing Unit Counts" (PDF) . United States Census Bureau . September 2012. pp. V–2, 1 & 41 (Tables 1 & 18) . Retrieved February 7, 2014 . ^ "World Factbook Country Comparison: Area" . The World Factbook . CIA . Archived from

4070-4065: The original on August 4, 2018 . Retrieved August 1, 2018 . v t e United States state-related lists List of states and territories of the United States Demographics Population African American Amish Asian Birth and death rates Density Hispanic and Latino Historical Household income Immigration LGBT Non-Hispanic white Pacific Islander Spanish-speaking Educational attainment Largest cities by population Median age Most popular given names Most populous counties Net migration Populated places Population density (cities) Race/ethnicity Religiosity Irreligion Economy Billionaires Budgets Companies Credit ratings Employment rates Exports and imports Federal tax revenue Federal taxation and spending Gross domestic product Growth rate Per capita Income Inequality Median home prices Median wages Millionaire households Minimum wages Poverty rates R&D spending Sales taxes Savings rate Socioeconomic factors Sovereign wealth funds State income taxes Unemployment rates Union affiliation Vehicles per capita Environment Botanical gardens Carbon dioxide emissions Parks National Natural Landmarks National Wildlife Refuges Nature centers Electricity ( Renewable ) Superfund sites Wilderness areas Geography Area Bays Beaches Coastline Elevation Extreme points Forest Geographic centers Highest cities Islands Lakes Mountains Regions Volcanoes Government Agriculture commissioners Attorneys general Capitals Capitol buildings Comparison Congressional districts Members Counties Alphabetical List Courts Governors Lieutenant governors Legislatures Libraries and archives Official languages Poets laureate Politics by state or territory Political party strength State auditors State legislators Alabama–Missouri Montana–Wyoming State senators State secretaries of state State speakers State chief justices State presidents pro tempore State superintendents of education State supreme courts State treasurers Statewide elected executive officials Health Changes in life expectancy, 1985–2010 Fertility rates Hospitals Human Development Index American Human Development Index Life expectancy Infant mortality rates Obesity rates Road deaths Smoking History Date of statehood Name etymologies Historical societies Museums National Historic Landmarks National Register of Historic Places State partitions Historic regions Law Abortion Age of consent Alcohol Dry communities Alford plea Cell phone use while driving Constitutions Firearms Firearms death rates Gun Violence Homicide Rate Law enforcement agencies Legality of cannabis Peace Index Prisons Incarceration rate Same-sex unions Former constitutional bans Marriage law Seat belt laws Self-representation Smoking bans Speed limits ( by jurisdiction ) Statutory codes Violent Crime Rate Miscellaneous Abbreviations Airports Bus transit systems Casinos Cemeteries Demonyms Flags Hotels Insignia Coats of arms License plates Malls Mottos Newspapers Nicknames Numbered highways Quarters 50 states District of Columbia and territories America

4144-583: 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

4218-427: 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

4292-414: 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

4366-518: 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

4440-643: 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

4514-405: 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. List of U.S. states and territories by area This

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4588-478: 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

4662-495: 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

4736-410: 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

4810-566: The third-largest water area and seventh-largest water area percentage. See also [ edit ] [REDACTED] Geography portal [REDACTED] United States portal List of Canadian provinces and territories by area List of European countries by area List of political and geographic subdivisions by total area List of the largest country subdivisions by area List of U.S. cities by area List of U.S. states and territories by population Notes [ edit ] ^ Areas were not published in

4884-512: 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

4958-400: 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,

5032-476: 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

5106-417: 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

5180-467: 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

5254-420: 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

5328-446: Was the first time they were included with the Wichita peoples, a practice that continued in subsequent treaties, signed in 1837 and 1846. In 1853 an Indian reservation was established on the upper Brazos River in Texas, but settlers ultimately forced the tribes off the reservation. In August 1859, 258 Tawakoni people were forced to relocate to Indian Territory . With the Wichita, Waco, Caddo , Nadaco , Kichai , and Hainai tribes,

5402-478: 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

5476-517: 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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