Oklahoma is a West South Central state bordered by Kansas to the north, Arkansas to the east, Texas to the south, and New Mexico to the west. The state is shaped like a pan with a long handle. Its long panhandle borders Texas to the north. Oklahoma's landscape includes wooded mountains, flat plains, and low hills. A large Indian reservation occupied most of Oklahoma's land for about 60 years in the 1800s. During that time, the United States government had designated the region as the last homeland for several Indian tribes. The tribes established separate nations with their own governments and schools. The government opened the region to white settlers on April 22, 1889. On that one day, the state's population grew by about 50,000. However, some settlers tried to stake their claims for free land sooner than the law permitted, earning them the nickname "Sooners." For that reason, Oklahoma is known as the "Sooner State."
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art in the Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center is a privately funded, 110,000 square-feet, and three-story facility in the downtown arts district. The first floor special exhibition gallery offers world class traveling exhibitions. The permanent collection includes more than 3,000 works, featuring European, Asian and American art. In addition to the galleries, you will find a 252-seat theater, home to the region's most comprehensive film program, Museum Store, Museum Cafe, a Library/Resource Center and a state-of-the-art Education Center. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art fosters appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts through exhibition, education, collection and preservation. America is steeped in the traditions of the west and the American Indian, and no state boasts a richer heritage of both that Oklahoma. Indians from more than 67 tribes, including the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole, Osage, Cheyenne, Sac and Fox, Delaware, Apache, and Pawnee, call Oklahoma their home today. Such famous Indians as Sequoyah, Black Beaver, Jim Thorpe, and Maria Tallchief contributed to Oklahoma's development. The state is also the setting for vast horse and cattle ranches, rodeos, and working cowboys. Such famous cowboys as Bill Pickett, Tom Mix, Gene Autry, and Will Rogers hail from Oklahoma.
Oklahoma has a continental climate with cold winters and hot summers. Normal daily mean temperatures in Oklahoma City range from 3°C in January to 28°C in July. The record low temperature of –33°C was set at Watts on 18 January 1930; the record high, 49°C, occurred at Tipton on 27 June 1994. Dry, sunny weather generally prevails throughout the state. Precipitation varies from an average of 15 inches annually in the panhandle to over 50 inches in the southeast. Average annual precipitation in Oklahoma City (1971–2000) was 35.9 inches. Snowfall averages 9 inches a year in Oklahoma City, which is also one of the windiest cities in the United States, with an average annual wind speed of 19.8 kilometer per hour. Oklahoma is tornado-prone. One of the most destructive windstorms was the tornado that tore through Ellis, Woods, and Woodward counties on 9 April 1947, killing 101 people and injuring 782 others.
Oklahoma City: At first glance people might assume that Oklahoma City doesn’t have a lot going for it. After all, it’s in Oklahoma, and there just doesn’t seem to be a lot that the state has to offer for the adventurer…at least not at first glance.
Norman: Norman, Oklahoma is a great college town and is home to the University of Oklahoma and their hardcore Sooner football fans! The city literally stops during football games on Saturdays in the fall. Traffic can be a big problem on game day!
Lawton: Lawton is located about 80 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. As of the 2010 Census Lawton had a population of over 95,000 people. It is located on lands formerly of the Comanche, Apache, and Kiowa reservations, all of which operate casinos within the city limits.
Stillwater: The town where Oklahoma began, Stillwater sprung up in as the first settlement in the then-Unassigned Lands area in 1884.
Edmond: Located on the north side of the Oklahoma City metro area, Edmond has become one of the nicest parts of The City area. It's the typical suburban town, but it has a charm all its own.
Arcadia: Arcadia, OK (pop about 300) is located about 20 minutes north of OKC. It was founded as a farming community and with a railroad depot to transport the farm good. In the late 1920s, Route 66 was built through Arcadia and the town thrived with the tourist dollars. The Round Barn, located right on RT 66, still stands, and draws tourists as it has for 110 years. Lake Arcadia and all the attractions of Oklahoma City are nearby.
Norman: Norman, Oklahoma is a great college town and is home to the University of Oklahoma and their hardcore Sooner football fans! The city literally stops during football games on Saturdays in the fall. Traffic can be a big problem on game day!
Lawton: Lawton is located about 80 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. As of the 2010 Census Lawton had a population of over 95,000 people. It is located on lands formerly of the Comanche, Apache, and Kiowa reservations, all of which operate casinos within the city limits.
Stillwater: The town where Oklahoma began, Stillwater sprung up in as the first settlement in the then-Unassigned Lands area in 1884.
Edmond: Located on the north side of the Oklahoma City metro area, Edmond has become one of the nicest parts of The City area. It's the typical suburban town, but it has a charm all its own.
Arcadia: Arcadia, OK (pop about 300) is located about 20 minutes north of OKC. It was founded as a farming community and with a railroad depot to transport the farm good. In the late 1920s, Route 66 was built through Arcadia and the town thrived with the tourist dollars. The Round Barn, located right on RT 66, still stands, and draws tourists as it has for 110 years. Lake Arcadia and all the attractions of Oklahoma City are nearby.
Oklahoma is famous for many things. There is a working oil well on the front lawn of the state Capitol building. View artwork depicting the American West at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, the state's capital and largest city. Famous humorist Will Rogers was born in the state when a large portion of it was still Indian Territory. The movie "Twister" was filmed in Oklahoma because tornadoes are common in the state. John Steinbeck, a famous American author, described the drought of the 1930s in his famous novel "The Grapes of Wrath." The drought caused many people to move from Oklahoma to California. Oklahoma's state song comes from the hit musical "Oklahoma!" The musical was created in 1943 and was about the cowboys and farmers in the state during its territorial days.
Transportation in Oklahoma is generated by an anchor system of Interstate Highways, intercity rail lines, airports, inland ports, and mass transit networks. Situated along an integral point in the United States Interstate network, Oklahoma contains three interstate highways and four auxiliary Interstate Highways. In Oklahoma City, Interstate 35 intersects with Interstate 44 and Interstate 40, forming one of the most important intersections along the United States highway system. More than 12,000 miles of roads make up the state's major highway skeleton, including state-operated highways, ten turnpikes or major toll roads, and the longest drivable stretch of Route 66 in the nation. In 2008, Interstate 44 in Oklahoma City was Oklahoma's busiest highway, with a daily traffic volume of 123,300 cars. In 2010, the state had the nation's third highest number of bridges classified as structurally deficient, with nearly 5,212 bridges in disrepair, including 235 National Highway System Bridges.
Oklahoma's largest commercial airport is Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, averaging a yearly passenger count of more than 3.5 million in 2010. Tulsa International Airport, the state's second largest commercial airport, served more than 1.3 million boardings in 2010. Between the two, thirteen major airlines operate in Oklahoma. In terms of traffic, R.L. Jones Jr. Airport in Tulsa is the state's busiest airport, with 335,826 takeoffs and landings in 2008. In total, Oklahoma has over 150 public-use airports.
Oklahoma is connected to the nation's rail network via Amtrak's Heartland Flyer, its only regional passenger rail line. It currently stretches from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, Texas, though lawmakers began seeking funding in early 2007 to connect the Heartland Flyer to Tulsa. Two inland ports on rivers serve Oklahoma: the Port of Muskogee and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa. The only port handling international cargo in the state, the Tulsa Port of Catoosa is the most inland ocean-going port in the nation and ships over two million tons of cargo each year. Both ports are located on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, which connects barge traffic from Tulsa and Muskogee to the Mississippi River via the Verdigris and Arkansas rivers, contributing to one of the busiest waterways in the world.
Oklahoma's largest commercial airport is Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, averaging a yearly passenger count of more than 3.5 million in 2010. Tulsa International Airport, the state's second largest commercial airport, served more than 1.3 million boardings in 2010. Between the two, thirteen major airlines operate in Oklahoma. In terms of traffic, R.L. Jones Jr. Airport in Tulsa is the state's busiest airport, with 335,826 takeoffs and landings in 2008. In total, Oklahoma has over 150 public-use airports.
Oklahoma is connected to the nation's rail network via Amtrak's Heartland Flyer, its only regional passenger rail line. It currently stretches from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, Texas, though lawmakers began seeking funding in early 2007 to connect the Heartland Flyer to Tulsa. Two inland ports on rivers serve Oklahoma: the Port of Muskogee and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa. The only port handling international cargo in the state, the Tulsa Port of Catoosa is the most inland ocean-going port in the nation and ships over two million tons of cargo each year. Both ports are located on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, which connects barge traffic from Tulsa and Muskogee to the Mississippi River via the Verdigris and Arkansas rivers, contributing to one of the busiest waterways in the world.
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