pop (2000e) 3 450 700; area 181 083 km²/69 919 sq mi. State in SW USA, divided into 77 counties; the Sooner State; mostly acquired by the USA in the Louisiana Purchase, 1803; Indians forced to move here in the 1830s (Indian Territory); Allem Wright, a Choctaw chief, coined the name to describe the land held by his people; Indians then lost the W region to whites (Oklahoma Territory, 1890); merged Indian and Oklahoma territories admitted into the Union as the 46th state, 1907; capital, Oklahoma City; other chief cities, Tulsa and Lawton; rivers include the Red (forms the S border), Arkansas, Canadian, Cimarron; Ouachita Mts in the SE; Wichita Mts in the SW; highest point Black Mesa (1516 m/4974 ft); in the W, high prairies part of the Great Plains; major agricultural products livestock and wheat; cotton, dairy products, peanuts; large oil reserves and associated petroleum industry; machinery, fabricated metals, aircraft.
background: none;">| Flag of Oklahoma | Seal of Oklahoma |
| Nickname(s): Sooner State | |
| Official language(s) | None |
| Capital | Oklahoma City |
| Largest city | Oklahoma City |
| Area | Ranked 20th |
| - Total |
69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²) |
| - Width | 230 miles (370 km) |
| - Length | 298 miles (fBlack Mesa Mountain]] km) |
| - % water | 1.8 |
| - Latitude | 33°35'N to 37°N |
| - Longitude | 94°29'W to 103°W |
| Population | Ranked 27th |
| - Total (2000) | 3,450,654 |
| - Density |
{{{2000DensityUS}}}/sq mi 30.5/km² (35th) |
| Elevation | |
| - Highest point |
{{{HighestPoint}}} 4,9g garawe sgt esad73 ft (1,515 m) |
| - Mean | 1,296 ft (395 m) |
| - Lowest point |
Little River 289 ft (88 m) |
| Admission to Union | {{{AdmittanceDate}}} (46th) |
| Governor | C. Brad Henry (D) |
| U.S. Senators | James M. Coburn (R) |
| Time zones | |
| - most of state | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| - Kenton | Mountain: UTC-7/-6 |
| Abbreviations | OK Okla. US-OK |
| Web site | www.ok.gov |
Geography
| Oklahoma Portal |
Oklahoma is one of the six states on the Frontier Strip.
Regions of Oklahoma
From an ecoregional perspective, Oklahoma is recognized by the EPA as having 11 different ecoregions (one of only four U.S. states to have more than 10 ecoregions).
The Oklahoma Tourism Department divides the state down into six "countries" for tourism promotion purposes: Red Carpet Country (Northwestern Oklahoma and The Panhandle), Great Plains Country (Southwestern Oklahoma), Frontier Country (Central Oklahoma, including the Oklahoma City Metropolitan area), Green Country (Northeastern Oklahoma, including the Tulsa Metropolitan area), Kiamichi country (Southeastern Oklahoma), and Lake &
Popular but "unofficial" regional designations include Green Country (most often used to refer to Northeastern Oklahoma, but used by some to refer to either all of Eastern Oklahoma or just the Tulsa Metropolitan Area), Little Dixie (Southeastern Oklahoma), Western Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma Panhandle. While Oklahoma averages from 40-60 days of thunderstorms throughout the entire state, which is less frequent than thunderstorm activity in parts of the Southeast United States and the central Colorado Rockies, Oklahoma thunderstorms, which occur in what locals call a "fifth season" from April through July tend to among the most severe in the world.
History
Law and Government
| Oklahoma |
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This article is part of the series: |
| Constitution |
| State government Governor Lieutenant Governor Attorney General Secretary of State State Treasurer State Cabinet Legislature Senate President of the Senate President pro tempore House of Representatives Speaker Court System Supreme Court Court on the Judiciary Court of Impeachment Nominating Commission Political Parties Democratic Republican Minor parties Counties Federal government United States Senate James Inhofe (R) Tom Coburn (R) United States House John Sullivan (R) Dan Boren (D) Frank Lucas (R) Tom Cole (R) Mary Fallin (R) |
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State Government
The capital of the state is Oklahoma City and the Governor of Oklahoma is Brad Henry (Democrat).
Due to Oklahoma's restrictive ballot access laws (deemed by many to be the most restrictive in the nation), no third parties have access to the primary ballots, however the state does have the following active third parties: Oklahoma Libertarian Party, Green Party of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Constitution Party.
See also: Governor of Oklahoma See also: Oklahoma Legislature See also: Oklahoma Supreme CourtLocal Governance
The state is divided into 77 counties which deliver local government.
Transportation
Primary interstate highways in Oklahoma include I-35, which traverses the state from north to south, I-40, which traverses the state from east to west, and I-44, which enters Oklahoma in the southwest and leaves the state in the northeast corner.
Oklahoma is served by two major airports:
Will Rogers World Airport, Oklahoma City Tulsa International AirportThere are also numerous other regional and general aviation airports:
See: List of airports in Oklahoma
Amtrak also operates a daily train between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, Texas, the Heartland Flyer.
The minor league baseball teams are:
Oklahoma RedHawks (AAA in Oklahoma City) Tulsa Drillers (AA in Tulsa)Other Oklahoma City teams include
Oklahoma City Blazers (Ice Hockey: CHL) Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (Arena Football League: AF2) Oklahoma City Lightning (Women's Football: NWFA) New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (National Basketball Association)Other Enid teams include
Oklahoma Storm (Basketball: United States Basketball League)Other Tulsa teams include
Tulsa Oilers (Ice Hockey: CHL) Tulsa Talons (Arena Football: AF2) Tulsa 66ers (Basketball: NBA Development League)Oklahoma's major college teams are
the Oklahoma State Cowboys (Oklahoma State University) the Oklahoma Sooners (University of Oklahoma) the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (University of Tulsa)Important Cities and Metropolitan Areas
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, with a population of 523,303 in the immediate city limits and 1.3 million in the metro area, is the principal city of the eight-county Oklahoma City Metroplex and is the Oklahoma's largest urbanized area.
The 10 most popular religious affiliations (including "none") account for more than 90% of all Oklahomans:
No religious affiliation - 39.24% Southern Baptist – 28.03% United Methodist Church – 9.35% Catholic Church – 4.89% Assemblies of God – 2.56% Church of Christ – 2.41% Disciples of Christ - 1.56% Evangelical Christian Churches - 1.24% Church of the Nazarene - 1.06 Presbyterian Church (USA) - 1.02%Oklahoma state symbols
| Flora | ||
|---|---|---|
| Floral emblem | Mistletoe | |
| Wildflower | Indian Blanket Gaillardia pulchella | 1910 |
| Tree | Redbud Cercis canadensis | 1971 |
| Grass | Indian Grass Sorghastrum nutans | 1972 |
| Flower | Oklahoma Rose | 2004 |
| Fauna | ||
| Bird | Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Muscivora forficata | 1951 |
| Reptile | Collared Lizard (Mountain Boomer) Crotaphytus collaris) | 1969 |
| Animal | Bison Bison bison | 1972 |
| Fish | White bass (Sand bass) Morone chrysops | 1974 |
| Furbearer Animal | Common Raccoon Procyon lotor | 1989 |
| Insect | European honey bee Apis mellifera | 1992 |
| Game Animal | White-tail deer Odocoileus virginians | 1990 |
| Game Bird | Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo | 1990 |
| Butterfly | Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes | 1996 |
| Amphibian | Bullfrog Rana catesbeiana | 1997 |
| Fossil | Allosaurid dinosaur Saurophaganax maximus | 2000 |
| Music | ||
| waltz | "Oklahoma Wind" | |
| Anthem |
"Oklahoma!" lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II music: Richard Rodgers |
1953 |
| Song |
"Oklahoma Hills" lyrics: Woody Guthrie music: Woody Guthrie |
|
| Musical Instrument | Fiddle | 1984 |
| Country and Western Song |
"Faded Love" by John Willis and Bob Wills |
1988 |
| Folk Dance | Square Dance | 1988 |
| Percussive Musical Instrument | Drum | 1993 |
| Children's Song |
"Oklahoma, My Native Land" by Martha Kemm Barrett |
1996 |
| Western Band | The Sounds of the Southwest | 1997 |
| Folk Song |
"Oklahoma Hills" by Woody Guthrie and Jack Guthrie |
2001 |
| Other | ||
| Colors | Green and White | 1915 |
| Rock | Rose Rock (Barite rose) | 1968 |
| Theatre | Lynn Riggs Players of Oklahoma, Inc. | 1971 |
| Poem | "Howdy Folks" by David Randolph Milsten | 1973 |
| Pin | "OK" pin | 1982 |
| Beverage | Milk | 1985 |
| Soil | Port Silt Loam Cumulic haplustolls | 1987 |
| Meal |
Fried okra, squash, cornbread, barbecue pork, biscuits, sausage and gravy, grits, corn, strawberries, chicken fried steak, pecan pie, and black-eyed peas. |
1988 |
| Poet Laureate | biennial gubernatorial appointment | 1994 |
| Tartan | Oklahoma Tartan | 1999 |
Demographics
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2005, Oklahoma has an estimated population of 3,547,884, which is an increase of 24,338, or 0.7%, from the prior year and an increase of 97,232, or 2.8%, since the year 2000.
| Demographics of Oklahoma (csv) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By race | White | Black | AIAN | Asian | NHPI |
| AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | |||||
| 2000 (total population) | 82.59% | 8.31% | 11.39% | 1.71% | 0.15% |
| 2000 (hispanic only) | 4.73% | 0.19% | 0.37% | 0.05% | 0.02% |
| 2005 (total population) | 82.20% | 8.55% | 11.31% | 1.92% | 0.16% |
| 2005 (hispanic only) | 6.10% | 0.24% | 0.35% | 0.06% | 0.03% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (total population) | 2.33% | 5.76% | 2.04% | 15.49% | 9.51% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (non-hispanic only) | 0.50% | 5.17% | 2.22% | 15.19% | 9.47% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (hispanic only) | 32.58% | 31.44% | -3.27% | 25.17% | 9.69% |
The five largest ancestry groups in Oklahoma are German (14.5%), American (13.1%), Irish (11.8%), English (9.6%), Native American (7.9%, with Cherokees as the largest tribe).
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