Oklahoma Geography

Basic Facts

• Geographical Region: South
• Size: 69903 sq.mi., 20th rank overall.
• Admitted to Statehood: November 16, 1907
• Population: 3,687,050;28th rank overall.
• Capital: Oklahoma City
• Other Major City: Tulsa
• Abbreviation: OK

Fun Facts

• Nickname: Sooner State
• State Flag: Click Here (opens window to 50states.com)
• State Bird: Scissor Tailed Flycatcher (opens window to 50states.com)
• State Flower: Mistletoe (opens window to 50states.com)

Geographical Description

• The northwestern portion of the state, known as the Panhandle, stretches 144 miles long and 34 miles wide. It is part of level grasslands called the High Plains. Black Mesa, Oklahoma's highest point at 4,978 feet above sea level is located here.
• Oklahoma has four primary mountain ranges: the Ouachita Mountains, the Arbuckle Mountains, the Wichita Mountains, and the Ozark Mountains.
• The state's southeastern corner, Cavanal Hill is regarded by the Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department as the world's tallest hill; at 1,999 feet (609 m), it fails their definition of a mountain by one foot.
• Consisting primarily of prairie plains, central and eastern Oklahoma plains slope upward to the Ozark Plateau in the northeast and to the Ouachita Mountains in the southeast.
• The two main river systems are the Red River, which forms the southern boundary with Texas, and Arkansas River which runs through the northeastern part of the state. They drain the state and carry water to the Gulf of Mexico.
• More than 500 named creeks and rivers make up Oklahoma's waterways, and with 200 lakes created by dams, it holds the highest number of artificial reservoirs in the nation. Oklahoma has more man-made lakes than any other state, with over one million surface acres of water.

Map: Relief Map of OK

Industry

Minerals, transportation equipment, nonelectrical machinery, electric products, rubber, metal products, plastic products, food processing

Agriculture

Livestock, wheat, dairy, poultry, cotton.

Other Information

Fun Facts:

• The only city in the United States to be bombed during WWII, was on July 5, 1943 when a B-17 Bomber released six practice bombs on the sleeping town of Boise City, Oklahoma.
• Choctaw gained status as a town in 1893 making it the oldest chartered town in Oklahoma.
• In Oklahoma City the first parking meter was installed in 1935.
• The state of Oklahoma was originally Indian Territory, but was opened to settlers in a "Land Rush" in 1889. Prospective settlers claimed plots of land by outlining their territory with stakes. A few of these settlers laid stakes prior to the official start of the land run and were later known as the "Sooners."
• Tahlequah, Oklahoma is the Tribal capital of the Cherokee Nation.
• With over 250,000 American Indians, Oklahoma has the largest Native American population of any state.

More Fun Facts: http://www.50states.com/facts/okla.htm