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125-636: The Piney Woods cover a 54,400-square-mile (141,000 km) area of eastern Texas, northwestern Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas and the southeastern corner of Oklahoma . They are bounded on the east by the Mississippi lowland forests , on the south by the Western Gulf coastal grasslands , on the west by the East Central Texas forests and the Texas blackland prairies , on the northwest by

250-684: A Globally Important Bird Area by the American Bird Conservancy . The preserve was established in 1974 under 16 U.S. Code § 698 - Big Thicket National Preserve "...to assure the preservation, conservation, and protection of the natural, scenic, and recreational values of a significant portion of the Big Thicket area in the State of Texas..." Since the preserve's inception, the Conservation Fund has helped to increase

375-850: 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

500-505: A different assemblage of birds migrate from the north to spend the winters months in the region, including the Canada goose ( Branta canadensis ), ring-necked duck ( Aythya collaris ), hooded merganser ( Lophodytes cucullatus ), blue-headed vireo ( Vireo solitarius ), Henslow's sparrow ( Ammodramus henslowii ), Le Conte's Sparrow ( Ammodramus leconteii ), and Smith's longspur ( Calcarius pictus ). A few species that once occurred in

625-477: A diverse herbaceous layer of grasses, sedges , and, in some places, insectivorous plants and orchids. These wetland savannas are one of the rarest habitat types in Texas with only a few small fragments receiving any protected status. Other similar sites have been greatly modified or have become overgrown and less diverse. Flatwood landscapes are characterized by pimple mounds , small hillocks that are abundant across

750-675: A dozen others. Amphibians: Over a dozen species of salamanders occur in the Piney Woods. The Louisiana slimy salamander ( Plethodon kisatchie ) of northern Louisiana and adjacent areas of southern Arkansas is endemic to the region. The three-toed amphiuma ( Amphiuma tridactylum ), commonly growing 18 to 30 inches (46-76 cm.), and other species such as the Gulf Coast waterdog ( Necturus beyeri ), Red River mudpuppy ( Necturus louisianensis ), and western lesser siren ( Siren intermedia ) are entirely aquatic. Other salamanders include

875-519: A dozen species of bats occur in the region, some migratory like the Brazilian free-tailed bat ( Tadarida brasiliensis ) and silvered-haired bat ( Lasionycteris noctivagans ), others are year round residents like the Seminole bat ( Lasiurus seminolus ), evening bat ( Nycticeius humeralis ), Rafinesque's big-eared bat ( Corynorhinus rafinesquii ), a threatened species in Texas. Rodents found in

1000-474: 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

1125-793: A great diversity of herbaceous species, with the structure and composition varying from the more open forests of the wet savannas to the more closed forests of the dry flatwoods. Savanna wetlands on the Montgomery Formation and prairie areas on the Beaumont Formation were most likely larger in the Flatwoods than in the Southern Tertiary Uplands (35e) and Tertiary Uplands (35a) to the north. The pine wetland savannas had scattered longleaf pine along with shrubs of sweetbay, wax myrtle, titi , and holly, and

1250-824: A greater drainage density than other parts of the South Central Plains. Native vegetation is largely oak–hickory–pine forest. Today, woods and pastureland are common. Water quality in forested watersheds tends to be good, and is better than in pastureland. Streams generally have lower total dissolved solids values and much lower total organic carbon values than the Tertiary Uplands (35a) and Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces (35c), although turbidity, total suspended solids, and hardness values are slightly higher. Longitudinal stream gradients and Ouachita Mountain influences are greater than in ecoregions 35a or 35c. Water quality in forested watersheds tends to be good, and

1375-540: A large area in eastern Texas, southern Arkansas, and northern Louisiana. The rolling Tertiary Uplands are dominated by commercial pine plantations that have replaced the native oak – hickory – pine forest. Ecoregion 35a is underlain by poorly-consolidated Tertiary sand , silt , and gravel ; it lacks the Cretaceous , often calcareous rocks of the Cretaceous Dissected Uplands (35d) and

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1500-520: 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

1625-411: A mixed forest of pine and oak; flatwood wetlands are less extensive than on the lowest terrace. The mid-level terrace is veneered with windblown silt deposits ( loess ). Streams tend to be mildly acidic and stained by organic matter. They have more suspended solids, greater turbidity, and higher hardness values than the Tertiary Uplands (35a). The southernmost piece of 35c, around Marksville, Louisiana ,

1750-481: 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

1875-405: 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

2000-507: 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

2125-465: 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

2250-644: 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

2375-501: A variety of ferns and mosses . Bald cypress and water tupelo occur in semi-permanently flooded areas. Spanish moss hangs in these trees, and floating aquatic plants often occur. On wet flats, backswamps, and swamp margins that are seasonally flooded, overcup oak , water hickory , water elm , sweetgum, green ash , and red maple occur. River banks may contain black willow , sycamore , and eastern cottonwood . Wetness and flooding present severe limitations for agriculture. A few of

2500-703: A wide area bounded roughly by Pine Island Bayou in Hardin County, Texas to the south, the Neches River bottom to the east (units on both sides of the river), the Trinity River to the west and Steinhagen Reservoir to the north. The preserve contains ten distinct ecosystems according to the National Park Service . Big Thicket National Preserve is one of two UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Texas. The preserve has also been listed as

2625-644: Is a Pleistocene terrace with some similarities in soils and historical natural vegetation to that of the Lafayette Loess Plains (34j). The prairie has been converted to agriculture. Terraces are less extensive in Texas and Oklahoma, occurring mostly along the Red River , with some smaller terraces along the Sulphur River . In Texas, current land cover is mostly pine–hardwood forest, with post oak, Shumard oak , and eastern redcedar woods to

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2750-462: 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,

2875-569: 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

3000-705: Is better than downstream of pastureland. Surface waters usually have lower total organic carbon values and slightly higher turbidity, total suspended solids, and hardness values than the Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces (35c). Streams lying in the Muddy Boggy Creek and Blue River watersheds often originate in, and share many aquatic species with, the Arbuckle Uplift (29g); alkalinity, hardness, and conductivity values are influenced by local springs, and increase westward. Streams in

3125-740: 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 the land to settlement. With ancient mountain ranges, prairie, mesas , and eastern forests, most of Oklahoma lies in

3250-776: 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

3375-488: Is far less common than in the Red River Bottomlands (35g). Active, meandering alluvial river channels are dynamic systems, with erosion and deposition reworking the topography of levees, ridges, and swales. Overbank flooding, subsurface groundwater , and local precipitation recharge water levels in backswamps , pools, sloughs , oxbows, and depressions of this floodplain region. Potential natural vegetation

3500-543: Is relatively high in the Piney Woods for a temperate area of its size, with well over 30 species ranging into the region. The Louisiana pinesnake ( Pituophis ruthveni ) is endemic and Slowinski's cornsnake ( Pantherophis slowinskii ) is nearly endemic. Five venomous snakes occur in the region, the Texas coralsnake ( Micrurus tener ), eastern copperhead ( Agkistrodon contortrix ), northern cottonmouth ( Agkistrodon piscivorus ), timber rattlesnake ( Crotalus horridus ), and pygmy rattlesnake ( Sistrurus miliarius ). Some of

3625-601: 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

3750-569: Is southern floodplain forest as in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (ecoregion 73); it is unlike the oak–hickory–pine forest of the higher, better drained, and lithologically distinct Tertiary Uplands (35a) and Cretaceous Dissected Uplands (35d). Water oak , willow oak , sweetgum, blackgum , American elm , red maple , Southern red oak , swamp chestnut oak , and loblolly pine are typical. Understory flora include holly , grape genus , poison ivy , crossvine , greenbriar, and

3875-665: 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

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4000-439: Is warmer, wetter, flatter, less dissected, and lower in elevation than the Tertiary Uplands (35a) and Southern Tertiary Uplands (35e) to the north, with a greater presettlement fire frequency. Streams are low gradient and sluggish. In the eastern part of the region near the boundary with the Red River Bottomlands (35g), more loess occurs, the landscape becomes more dissected, and it supports a mixed hardwood–pine forest. Almost all of

4125-555: 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

4250-792: The Big Thicket National Preserve is within this region. The area has a long history of modification, particularly by the lumber, railroad, and oil and gas industries that contributed to boom and bust cycles of development and occupance. Settlements include (in Louisiana) Moss Bluff ; DeRidder ; (in Texas) Lumberton ; Atascocita ; Humble ; and The Woodlands . Protected areas include Chicot State Park , Marsh Bayou Wildlife Management Area (WMA), West Bay WMA , Big Thicket National Preserve , and Kirby State Forest. The Red River Bottomlands contain

4375-506: The Catahoula Formation have distinctive barrens or glades in Texas and Louisiana that contain several rare species. Forested seeps in sand hills support acid bog species including southern sweetbay , hollies, wax-myrtles , fetterbush , insectivorous plants , orchids , and wild azalea ; this vegetation becomes more extensive in the Flatwoods (35f). Currently, the ecoregion in Texas and Louisiana has more pine forest than

4500-560: The Central forest-grasslands transition , and on the north by the Ozark Mountain forests . They receive 40–52 inches (1,000–1,300 mm) of precipitation annually. The region has heavy to moderate rainfall, with some places receiving over 60 in (1,500 mm) of rain per year. Longleaf , shortleaf , and loblolly pines , along with bluejack and post oaks , dominate sandhills . A well-developed understory grows beneath

4625-498: 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

4750-564: 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

4875-554: 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 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

5000-657: The Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains from Texas to Virginia . Region 35b is nearly level, veneered by Holocene alluvium, and contains natural levees , swales , oxbow lakes , and meander scars . Longitudinal channel gradients are low and are less than in the Ouachita Mountains (ecoregion 36). Soils include Alfisols, Inceptisols , Vertisols , and Entisols and are generally somewhat poorly drained to very poorly drained, clayey and loamy. Large parts of Ecoregion 35b are frequently flooded. Forested wetlands are characteristic, but pastureland also occurs. Cropland

5125-752: 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

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5250-478: The Mississippi Alluvial Plain (ecoregion 73). Settlements, all in Louisiana, include Shreveport ; the eastern part of Natchitoches ; Alexandria ; Cheneyville ; and Bunkie . Protected areas include Spring Bank Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Soda Lake WMA, John Franks WMA, Red River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Loggy Bayou WMA, Bayou Pierre WMA, Elbow Slough WMA, Grand Cote NWR , Lake Ophelia NWR , and

5375-489: 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

5500-901: 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

5625-714: 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

5750-399: 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

5875-512: 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

6000-606: 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

6125-470: 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

6250-632: 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

6375-504: 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

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6500-689: The Acadiana Conservation Corridor. The level to rolling Blackland Prairie characteristically has dark soils derived from underlying Cretaceous marl , chalk , and limestone . Prairie was common or dominant during and shortly after the Hypsithermal Period in the middle of the Holocene Epoch. By the late 18th century, the Blackland Prairie was a mosaic of woodland, savanna, and prairies. Today,

6625-409: 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

6750-528: 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

6875-693: The Floodplains and Low Terraces include parts of Beaumont and Lake Charles ; typically these narrow and wet regions are less developed. Protected areas include Pond Creek National Wildlife Refuge , Little River National Wildlife Refuge , Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge , Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge , Sabine Island Wildlife Management Area, and Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge . The Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces are nearly level, poorly-drained, periodically wet, underlain by Pleistocene unconsolidated terrace deposits, and often covered by pine–hardwood flatwoods . The broad flats and gently sloping stream terraces are lower and less dissected than

7000-423: The Gulf Coast toad ( Incilius nebulifer ) occurs in the south. The Fowler's toad ( Anaxyrus fowleri ) ranges throughout Arkansas and Louisiana, but populations in east Texas intergraded with Woodhouse's toad ( Anaxyrus woodhousii ), however some regard the east Texas populations as a distinct species, the east Texas toad ( Anaxyrus velatus ). Fish: The Piney Woods are rich in fish diversity. Fish occurring in

7125-606: The Piney Woods (threatened species: Federal++; State +: historical isolated Illinois population now extirpated = *). Within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ecoregions scheme, the Piney Woods are known as the South Central Plains, a Level III ecoregion. Within the South Central Plains, eight Level IV ecoregions are identified: Tertiary Uplands, Floodplains and Low Terraces, Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces, Cretaceous Dissected Uplands, Southern Tertiary Uplands, Flatwoods, Red River Bottomlands, and Blackland Prairie. The rolling Tertiary Uplands , gently to moderately sloping, cover

7250-785: The Piney Woods and other forest of the Gulf Coast states in the USA. Hardy species of prickly pear cactus and yucca can be found in the forests where deep sands occur. The indigenous Texas trailing phlox ( Phlox nivalis texensis ), an endangered species, grows in the sandy soils of longleaf pine forests. Mammals: Common species in the Piney Woods include White-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), Virginia opossum ( Didelphis virginiana ), northern raccoon ( Procyon lotor ), striped skunk ( Mephitis mephitis ), eastern mole ( Scalopus aquaticus ), least shrew ( Cryptotis parva ), eastern gray squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis ), eastern fox squirrel ( Sciurus niger ), and eastern cottontail ( Sylvilagus floridanus ). Somewhat less common are

7375-449: The Piney Woods and they appear to be slowly increasing in numbers and dispersing. As of 2020, however, the black bear is largely extirpated from most quarters, and rare in peripheral areas. With the clearing of forest and decline of the native predators (or competitors), the nine-banded armadillo ( Dasypus novemcinctus ), coyotes ( Canis latrans ), and black-tailed jackrabbit ( Lepus californicus ) have expanded their ranges eastward into

7500-509: The Piney Woods in the spring and summer, such as the anhinga ( Anhinga anhinga ), yellow-crowned night-heron ( Nyctanassa violacea ), little blue heron ( Egretta caerulea ), snowy egret ( Egretta thula ), purple gallinule ( Porphyrula martinica ), Chuck-will's-widow ( Caprimulgus carolinensis ), scissor-tailed flycatcher ( Tyrannus forficatus ), prairie warbler ( Dendroica discolor ), Swainson's warbler ( Limnothlypis swainsonii ), and painted bunting ( Passerina ciris ). Conversely,

7625-460: The Piney Woods include the green anole ( Anolis carolinensis ), six-lined racerunner ( Aspidoscelis sexlineatus ), prairie lizard ( Sceloporus conssbrinus ), slender glass lizard ( Ophisaurus attenuatus ), and a number of skinks including the five-lined skink ( Plestiodon fasciatus ), broad-headed skink ( Plestiodon laticeps ), southern coal skink ( Plestiodon anthracinus ), and little brown skink ( Scincella lateralis ). Snake diversity

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7750-840: The Piney Woods include the southern flying squirrel ( Glaucomys volans ), common muskrat ( Ondatra zibethicus ), Baird's pocket gopher ( Geomys breviceps ), woodland vole ( Microtus pinetorum ), and about 10 additional native rats and mice. Several of the larger carnivores that once occurred in the Piney Woods are entirely extirpated , including the hog-nosed skunk ( Conepatus leuconotus ), red wolf ( Canis rufus ), jaguar ( Panthera onca ), and ocelot ( Leopardus pardalis ). The mountain lion ( Puma concolor ) and black bear ( Ursus americanus ) have also been extirpated from most areas; however, very rare sightings or remains are occasionally documented, likely representing wandering individuals rather than breeding populations. Stable populations of black bears occur in adjacent areas north and east of

7875-428: The Piney Woods: bayous are generally found near rivers and sloughs are generally found near creeks. In bayous bald cypress , Spanish moss , and water lilies are common plants. Sloughs are shallow pools of standing water that most trees are not capable of growing in. Other species, such as the purple bladderwort , a small carnivorous plant , have found niches in sloughs. A baygall is another type of wetland found

8000-476: The Pleistocene terrace deposits of Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces (35c), and the Tertiary sediments of the Tertiary Uplands (35a). Natural vegetation of the bottomland hardwood forests included trees such as water oak, sweetgum, willow oak, southern red oak, Nutall oak , honey locust , water locust , eastern red cedar, blackgum, blackjack oak , overcup oak, river birch , red maple, green ash, and American elm. There are also some plant distribution differences between

8125-451: The South Central Plains (ecoregion 35). In Oklahoma, The main crops are soybeans, grain sorghum, alfalfa, corn, and wheat; In Texas, soybeans, sorghum, wheat, and cotton; and in Louisiana, cotton, soybeans, corn, wheat, and rice, with some sugarcane in the southern portion. The Red River carries high silt loads and is almost continuously turbid compared to other rivers of the South Central Plains, although silt load has lessened in Louisiana with

8250-403: The Southern Tertiary Uplands (35e) to the north, and tend to be less clayey than in the Southern Subhumid Gulf Coastal Prairies (34b) and Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies (34a) to the south. This ecoregion once was dominated by longleaf pine flatwoods and savannas, but also supported other mixed pine–hardwood forest types. The longleaf pine community was characterized by longleaf pine over

8375-509: 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

8500-553: The Tertiary Uplands (35a), but higher than the floodplains of 35b and 35g. Soils are typically well to poorly drained Alfisols and Ultisols with loamy and sandy surfaces. Loblolly pine and oaks are common and are adapted to the prevailing hydroxeric regime; pastureland and hayland are less extensive. A vertical sequence of terraces occurs. The lowest terrace is nearly flat, clayey, and has extensive hardwood wetlands. Higher terraces become progressively older and more dissected; they are dominated by pine flatwoods, pine savanna, prairie , or

8625-438: 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 ,

8750-432: 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

8875-424: The amount of protected acreage by 33,000 acres (13,000 ha). Federal Land United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service Oklahoma Oklahoma ( / ˌ oʊ k l ə ˈ h oʊ m ə / OHK -lə- HOH -mə ; Choctaw : Oklahumma , pronounced [oklahómma] ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States . It borders Texas to

9000-408: The area include mid and tall grasses such as yellow Indian grass , pinehill bluestem , narrowleaf woodoats , and panicums . The landscape is dissected by numerous small streams. Waters tend to be stained by organics, thus lowering water clarity and increasing total organic carbon and biochemical oxygen demand levels. Most streams have a sandy substrate and a forest canopy . Many do not flow during

9125-855: 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

9250-492: 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

9375-414: The commercial timber growing and wood processing in the state of Texas takes place in the Piney Woods region, which contains about 50,000 square kilometres (12,000,000 acres) of commercial forestland. One National Preserve , the Big Thicket National Preserve , in the southern part of the Texas portion of the Piney Woods region, currently consists of fourteen named, non-contiguous units scattered across

9500-440: The construction of the river's lock and dam system. The Red River historically carried high silt loads and was almost continuously turbid compared to other rivers of Ecoregion 35. With the construction of the lock and dam system throughout its extent in Louisiana, silt load has lessened. The Louisiana portion of the Red River Bottomlands shares similarities in natural vegetation and other biota, hydrology, and land uses with parts of

9625-765: The eastern part of the Cretaceous Dissected Uplands drain the more rugged, lithologically distinct Ouachita Mountains (ecoregion 36); aquatic flora and fauna assemblages are influenced by the Ouachitas and are distinct from western streams. Settlements include (in Arkansas) Arkadelphia ; Hope ; Lockesburg ; (in Oklahoma) Hugo ; Bennington ; and Caney . Protected areas include Crater of Diamonds State Park , some portions of Ouachita National Forest , and Boggy Depot Park . The Southern Tertiary Uplands ecoregion of Texas and Louisiana generally covers

9750-451: The extensive Quaternary alluvium of Ecoregions 35b, 35g, and 73 ( Mississippi Alluvial Plain ). In eastern Texas and Louisiana, Tertiary deposits are mostly Eocene clays, silts, and sands, with some Paleocene sediments to the west. Soils are loamy , well-drained, thermic Ultisols or moderately drained Alfisols , typically with sandy and loamy surface textures. In many areas of Ecoregion 35a, commercial pine plantations have replaced

9875-496: The fertile soils of the Blackland Prairie are mostly used for pastureland, woodland, and hayland. Only a few prairie remnants still occur and are mostly limited to the thin, droughty soils of cuesta scarps . Settlements include Gurdon , Prescott , McNab , Ozan , Saratoga , and Rocky Comfort . Protected areas include Terre Noire Natural Area Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Ozan WMA, Hope Upland WMA, Rick Evans Grandview Prairie WMA, and Raymond Gary State Park . The majority of

10000-431: The flats. On steep slopes, along streams and other areas where fire was less frequent, forests contained loblolly pine, sweetgum, white oak, southern red oak, willow oak, blackgum, and hollies. Although greatly reduced from its original extent, longleaf pine continues to characterize a significant portion of the area. Beech–magnolia was not extensive, occurring in narrow areas along some streams and mesic slopes. This region

10125-559: The floodplain and low terraces of the Red River within the South Central Plains (ecoregion 35). The region occurs in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana, and includes the highly meandering main channel of the Red River, oxbow lakes, meander scars, ridges, and backswamps. The Holocene alluvium associated with Red River deposition developed well to somewhat poorly drained Vertisols and Entisols with clayey and loamy, reddish-brown, neutral to calcareous surfaces. The lithology contrasts with

10250-545: The floodplains of ecoregions 35g and 35b. Western species, such as bur oak and Durand oak , were native to the Red River Bottomlands but were typically absent from the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (ecoregion 73). Currently in the Red River Bottomlands, most of its natural woodland has been cleared for cropland and improved pasture, although some woodland still occurs in very poorly drained and frequently flooded areas. The broad, nearly level bottomlands are often dominated by agriculture, with more cropland than other floodplains of

10375-638: The forested habitat compared to their abundance in the open marshlands and prairies to the south. The Sabine map turtle ( Graptemys sabinensis ) is endemic: and among the many other turtles found in the region are the alligator snapping turtle ( Macrochelys temminckii ), chicken turtle ( Deirochelys reticularia ), false map turtle ( Graptemys pseudogeographica ), river cooter ( Pseudemys concinna ), three-toed box turtle ( Terrapene triunguis ), eastern mud turtle ( Kinosternon subrubrum ), razor-backed musk turtle ( Sternotherus carinatus ), and spiny softshell turtle ( Apalone spinifera ). Lizards occurring in

10500-432: The higher terraces may have some pasture, but most of the region has deciduous forest land cover. Silviculture activities range from selective tree removal to clearcutting to, in some areas, replacement with pine monoculture. Reservoirs have inundated large areas of this habitat and have altered downstream hydrology. The bottomland forests provide important wildlife habitat with a high diversity of species. Settlements of

10625-415: 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

10750-661: 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

10875-480: 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

11000-515: 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:

11125-623: 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

11250-492: 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

11375-433: The native shortleaf pine –hardwood forest. Prominent native trees include shortleaf pine, loblolly pine , southern red oak , post oak , black oak , white oak , hickories , and sweetgum . American beautyberry , sumac , greenbriar , and hawthorn are common understory species. The sandier areas often have more bluejack oak , post oak, and stunted pines. Scattered, stunted, sandhill woodlands also occur. Grasses in

11500-684: The non-venomous snakes include the rough greensnake ( Opheodrys aestivus ), Dekay's brownsnake ( Storeria dekayi ), eastern hog-nosed snake ( Heterodon platirhinos ), western ribbonsnake ( Thamnophis proximus ), glossy swampsnake ( Liodytes rigida ), southern watersnake ( Nerodia fasciata ), diamond-back watersnake ( Nerodia rhombifer ), red-bellied mudsnake ( Farancia abacura ), North American racer ( Coluber constrictor ), coachwhip ( Masticophis flagellum ), scarletsnake ( Cemophora coccinea ), prairie kingsnake ( Lampropeltis calligaster ), speckled kingsnake ( Lampropeltis holbrooki ), western ratsnake ( Pantherophis obsoletus ). and at least

11625-533: The northern river otter ( Lontra canadensis ), bobcat ( Lynx rufus ), gray fox ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus ), southern short-tailed shrew ( Blarina carolinensis ), North American beaver ( Castor canadensis ), and swamp rabbit ( Sylvilagus aquaticus ). Some carnivores such as the eastern spotted skunk ( Spilogale putorius ), ringtail ( Bassariscus astutus ), long-tailed weasel ( Mustela frenata ), American mink ( Mustela vison ), and red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ), are uncommon, rarely seen, and in decline. Over

11750-858: The oak–pine and pasture land cover more typical to the north in the Tertiary Uplands (35a). Large parts of the region are public National Forest land, such as Kisatchie National Forest . The Southern Tertiary Uplands ecoregion also covers the majority of Louisiana's longleaf pine range west of the Mississippi River. Settlements include (in Louisiana) Chatham ; Clarks ; Jena ; Pineville ; Leesville ; (in Texas) Jasper ; Lufkin ; and Conroe . Protected areas include Jimmie Davis State Park , Big Cypress State Park, Esler Field Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Kisatchie National Forest (four large tracts), Alexander State Forest , Fort Johnson North Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Clear Creek WMA ,

11875-762: 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

12000-417: The region are now extinct like the passenger pigeon ( Ectopistes migratorius ), Carolina parakeet ( Conuropsis carolinensis ), ivory-billed woodpecker ( Campephilus principalis ), and Bachman's warbler ( Vermivora bachmanii ). Reptiles: The American alligator ( Alligator mississippiensis ) ranges throughout all but the northwestern most area of the region, however they are not particularly common in

12125-461: The region include much of Little Rock ; El Dorado, Arkansas ; Texarkana ; Ruston, Louisiana ; and Longview , Tyler , and Nacogdoches in Texas. Protected areas include Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge , Poison Springs State Forest , much of Sabine National Forest , and Sabine Wildlife Management Area. The Floodplains and Low Terraces of Ecoregion 35 comprise the western margin of the southern bottomland hardwood communities that extend along

12250-887: The region include the chestnut lamprey ( Ichthyomyzon castaneus ), southern brook lamprey ( Ichthyomyzon gagei ), paddlefish ( Polyodon spathula ), alligator gar ( Atractosteus spatula ), spotted gar ( Lepisosteus oculatus ), bowfin ( Amia calva ), and redfin pickerel ( Esox americanus ). Some sport fish native to the Piney Woods include largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ), spotted bass ( Micropterus punctulatus ), white bass ( Morone chrysops ), yellow bass ( Morone mississippiensis ), black crappie ( Pomoxis nigromaculatus ), white crappie ( Pomoxis annularis ), blue catfish ( Ictalurus furcatus ), channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ), yellow bullhead ( Ictalurus natalis ), black bullhead ( Ictalurus melas ), redear sunfish ( Lepomis microlophus ), and longear sunfish ( Lepomis megalotis ). A multitude of smaller fish inhabit

12375-404: The region. Other species have been introduced into the region such as the nutria or coypu ( Myocastor coypus ), house mouse ( Mus musculus ), roof rat ( Rattus rattus ), and Norway rat ( Rattus norvegicus ). Feral house cats ( Felis catus ) and feral pigs ( Sus scrofa ) pose threats to native fauna and are serious conservation concerns. Birds: With some species migrating through in

12500-479: The remainder of longleaf pine range north of the Flatwoods (35f) on Tertiary sediments. The region of Tertiary geology is more hilly and dissected than the Flatwoods (35f) to the south, and soils are generally better drained over the more permeable sediments. Soils are Ultisols and Alfisols with silt loam to loamy sand textures. The Pliocene -age to Eocene-age geology contains a variety of siltstones , sandstones , and calcareous and acidic clays. Historical vegetation

12625-464: 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 is Oklahoma City . The state's name

12750-619: The southern portion of Sabine National Forest , Angelina National Forest and Bannister WMA, Davy Crockett National Forest , and Sam Houston National Forest . The Flatwoods ecoregion occurs on mostly flat to gently sloping Pleistocene sediments. The northern boundary is generally along the Hockley Scarp or the division between Pleistocene and older Pliocene/Miocene formations to the north. Soils are poorly to moderately well drained Alfisols and Ultisols with mostly silt loam textures. They are generally more poorly drained than many areas of

12875-466: The sparse canopy , and includes yaupon holly and flowering dogwood . Pine savannas consist of scattered longleaf and loblolly pines alongside black tupelos , sweetgums , and in acid soils along creeks sweetbay magnolias . Other common trees in this ecoregion include eastern redbud , river birch , red maple , southern sugar maple , and American elm . American wisteria , a vine, may cover groves of trees. Two varieties of wetlands are common in

13000-996: The spotted salamander ( Ambystoma maculatum ), marbled salamander ( Ambystoma opacum ), mole salamander ( Ambystoma talpoideum ), small-mouthed salamander ( Ambystoma texanum ), spotted dusky salamander ( Desmognathus conanti ), western dwarf salamander ( Eurycea paludicola ), and the eastern newt ( Notophthalmus viridescens ). Anurans (frogs and toads) found in the Piney Woods include Blanchard's cricket frog ( Acris blanchardi ), Cope's gray treefrog ( Hyla chrysoscelis ), green treefrog ( Hyla cinerea ), cajun chorus frog ( Pseudacris fouquettei ), spring peeper ( Pseudacris crucifer ), eastern narrow-mouthed toad ( Gastrophryne carolinensis ), Hurter's spadefoot toad ( Scaphiopus hurterii ), American bullfrog ( Lithobates catesbeianus ), bronze frog ( Lithobates clamitans ), pickerel frog ( Lithobates palustris ), and southern leopard frog ( Lithobates sphenocephalus ). The American toad ( Anaxyrus americanus ) occurs in northern areas and

13125-993: The spring and fall, others nesting in the spring and summer months, and still others wintering in the region, well over 300 species of birds occur in the Piney Woods. A few of the many year round residents include the wood duck ( Aix sponsa ), black vulture ( Coragyps atratus ), red-shouldered hawk ( Buteo lineatus ), American kestrel ( Falco sparverius ), wild turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo ), northern bobwhite ( Colinus virginianus ), American woodcock ( Scolopax minor ), greater roadrunner ( Geococcyx californianus ), red-cockaded woodpecker ( Picoides borealis ), loggerhead shrike ( Lanius ludovicianus ), northern mockingbird ( Mimus polyglottos ), brown thrasher ( Toxostoma rufum ), Carolina chickadee ( Poecile carolinensis ), brown-headed nuthatch ( Sitta pusilla ), pine warbler ( Dendroica pinus ), Bachman's sparrow ( Aimophila aestivalis ), and fish crow ( Corvus ossifragus ). Many additional species migrate from regions south and nest in

13250-427: 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

13375-535: 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

13500-518: 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

13625-643: 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

13750-518: 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. Mustela frenata Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

13875-599: 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

14000-496: The summer or early fall. However, in sandhills, spring-fed, perennial streams occur; here, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, alkalinity , and hardness values are lower than elsewhere in the South Central Plains. Water quality in forested basins is better than in pastureland. Oil production has lowered stream quality in the south. Timber production is the dominant land use, along with livestock grazing, poultry production, and oil and gas activities. Major settlements in

14125-663: 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

14250-672: 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

14375-1179: The waters of the Piney Woods. Endemics include the bluehead shiner ( Pteronotropis hubbsi ) and Creole darter ( Etheostoma collettei ). The western mosquitofish ( Gambusia affinis ), a species that has been widely introduced around the world and considered a pest in many areas, is a native in the Piney Woods. Just a few of the other small fish in the region include blacktail shiner ( Cyprinella venusta ), pallid shiner ( Hybopsis amnis ), blackspot shiner ( Notropis atrocaudalis ), peppered shiner ( Notropis perpallidus ), Sabine shiner ( Notropis sabinae ), weed shiner ( Notropis texanus ), blacktail redhorse ( Moxostoma poecilurum ), freckled madtom ( Noturus nocturnus ), brown madtom ( Noturus phaeus ), Blair's starhead topminnow ( Fundulus blairae ), golden topminnow ( Fundulus chrysotus ), blachspotted topminnow ( Fundulus olivaceus ), bantma sunfish ( Lepomis symmetricus ), scaly sand darter ( Ammocrypta vivax ), redspot darter ( Etheostoma artesiae ), mud darter ( Etheostoma asprigene ), harlequin darter ( Etheostoma histrio ), and goldstripe darter ( Etheostoma parvipinne ). Some endemic flora and fauna of

14500-586: The west. In Arkansas, loblolly pine is more common on the terraces than shortleaf pine, perhaps influenced by the seasonal wet-dry regime. Settlements include White Hall, Arkansas ; much of Pine Bluff, Arkansas ; Sparkman, Arkansas ; East Camden, Arkansas ; Bastrop, Louisiana ; Hermitage, Arkansas ; Minden, Louisiana , and Ashdown, Arkansas . Protected areas include Cane Creek State Park , Seven Devils Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Crossett Experimental Forest WMA , and Lafayette WMA (Arkansas). The nearly level to hilly Cretaceous Dissected Uplands ecoregion has

14625-569: 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

14750-535: 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,

14875-657: 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

15000-544: 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

15125-686: 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

15250-450: Was dominated by longleaf pine– bluestem woodlands, but a variety of forest types were present, including shortleaf pine–hardwood forests, mixed hardwood–loblolly pine forests, and hardwood-dominated forests along streams. On more mesic sites, some American beech or magnolia –beech–loblolly pine forests occurred. Some small, scattered prairies with many rare plants are associated with areas of calcareous clay soils. Some sandstone outcrops of

15375-474: 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

15500-478: 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

15625-517: 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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