Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a south-central US state where the Great Plains meet the South, known for Native American heritage, energy production and tornado-prone skies. Its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City. Nicknamed the Sooner State, it has the largest concentration of Native American tribal nations in the country.

Oklahoma ranges from the forested Ozark and Ouachita highlands in the east to the high plains and the panhandle in the west, crossed by the Red and Arkansas rivers. It lies in Tornado Alley and experiences frequent severe weather. The climate is continental to subtropical.

Oklahoma culture blends Western, Southern and Native American traditions, with cowboy heritage, rodeos, and the influence of 39 federally recognized tribes. Country and Western music, college sports and oil-and-gas history shape its identity.

Designated as Indian Territory after the forced removal of southeastern tribes along the Trail of Tears, the land was opened to settlers in the dramatic Land Runs of the late 1800s. Oklahoma became the 46th state in 1907 and later endured the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.