Oklahoma (U.S. state)
Oklahoma was the 46th state to join the United States of America in 1907. It is the 20th largest in land area at 69,903 square miles. Its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City. Oklahoma is bordered by Texas and New Mexico to the south and west, Kansas and Colorado to the north, and Missouri and Arkansas to the east. It is perhaps best known to the rest of the world as being the subject of a song by Rodgers and Hammerstein, called, appropriately, Oklahoma!
Geography
Oklahoma has a diverse landscape and can is divided into 10 distinct regions[1]:
- Ozark Plateau
- Prairie Plains
- Ouachita Mountains
- Sandstone Hills
- Arbuckle Mountains
- Wichita Mountains
- Red River Valey Region
- Red Beds Plains
- Gypsum Hills
- High Plains
History
The area that comprises modern day Oklahoma was first brought into the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The government named it Indian Territory and used it to relocate the Five Civilized Tribes in the 1820's. These relocations were hard on the Indians, with the most famous being the hardships of the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears.