About Us

Established with a Land Run and designated a state in 1907, Oklahoma is just over a hundred years young. A land of diversity from its Native history and breathtaking scenery to its Americana charm and hospitable people, learn why Oklahoma should be on your travel itinerary. View Oklahoma Cities & Regions

State Symbols

• The Oklahoma state motto is "Labor Omnia Vincit" - Labor conquers all things.
• Oklahoma's nickname is the Sooner State.
• The state song is "Oklahoma!" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical of the same name.
• The state flag is an Osage warrior shield on a field of blue, with the shield crossed by a peace pipe and an olive branch.
• The Oklahoma state seal shows a pioneer and an Indian shaking hands beneath the Scales of Justice, centered in a star. The star's five rays each contain symbols of the Five Civilized Tribes.
• Oklahoma's state colors are green and white.
• The American bison is the Oklahoma state animal.
• The scissor-tailed flycatcher is the state bird.
• White or sand bass is the state fish.
• The state reptile is the Mountain Boomer or collared lizard.
• Rose rock is the Oklahoma state rock.
• The redbud is the state tree.
• The state floral emblem is mistletoe.
• Oklahoma's state wildflower is the Indian blanket (Gaillardia).
• The fiddle is the state musical instrument.
• Indian grass is Oklahoma's state grass.
• The honeybee is the state insect.

Quick Facts

• Oklahoma's current population is 4,019,800 (2022, estimated).
• Oklahoma is comprised of 77 counties.
• Oklahoma covers 69,919 square miles.
• Guthrie was the first state capital of Oklahoma.
• Oklahoma's state capitol is the only one in the world with an oil well drilled beneath it.
• Oklahoma is the third-largest gas-producing state in the nation.
• The Nellie Johnstone oil well, located at Johnstone Park in Bartlesville, was the first flowing commercial well in the world.
• The world's largest air materiel center is Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City.
• Fort Sill at Lawton is the Army's principal artillery school.
• Pawhuska had the first Boy Scout troop in America (1909).
• Sylvan Goldman of Oklahoma created the first rolling supermarket cart.
• The first parking meter was created in Oklahoma and installed in Oklahoma City in 1935.
• Oklahoma has 43 colleges and universities.
• Oklahoma is the winter quarters for more circuses than any other state.
• Oklahoma's average annual temperature is a pleasant 60.5 degrees.

Geography

• Oklahoma has four mountain ranges: Ouachita, Arbuckle, Wichita and Ozark.
• Forests cover 24 percent of Oklahoma.
• The Poteau River is the only river in Oklahoma that flows north.
• The world's largest single deposit of pure alabaster is found in the Alabaster Caverns near Freedom, Oklahoma.
• Oklahoma is linked to the world's waters by the McClellan-Kerr Navigation System, which flows on the Arkansas River through Arkansas to the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.
• The highest elevation in the state is Black Mesa, at 4,978 feet, in far northwestern Oklahoma.
• The lowest elevation in the state is in the southeastern corner near Idabel, at 324 feet.
• Oklahoma has the distinction of having the tallest hill in the world, Mount Cavanal, at 1,999 feet.
• Oklahoma has more man-made lakes (200) than any other state, more than 1 million surface-acres of water and 2,000 more miles of shoreline than the Atlantic and Gulf coasts combined.
• The largest lake in Oklahoma is Lake Eufaula, covering 102,000 surface acres of water.

Indian Information

• Oklahoma's name is derived from two Choctaw words - "okla," meaning people, and "humma," literally meaning "red people."
• The "Trail of Tears" began in the 1830s. It was the journey of the Five Civilized Tribes from the southeastern United States to Indian Territory. The relocation was forced.
• The Five Civilized Tribes attempted statehood in 1905 under the name Sequoyah.
• There are 39 tribes and nations of American Indians with headquarters in Oklahoma. Descendants of the original 67 tribes inhabiting Indian Territory still live here.

History Timeline

500-1300 - Spiro Indians, linked to the Aztecs, thrived and left burial mounds filled with exquisite artwork and clues to their way of life. A museum displaying their artifacts is located near Spiro.

1012 - Viking explorers visited eastern Oklahoma and left their mark near the town of Heavener.

1541 - Oklahoma's recorded history began when Spanish explorer Coronado carved his name and the date on a rock near the Cimarron River in western Oklahoma.

1803 - Oklahoma was part of the Louisiana Purchase.

1824 - Fort Gibson was the first fort established in Oklahoma.

1889 - Land in Indian Territory was opened to white settlement by land runs, lotteries and auctions. The territory was split in half, and the western half became Oklahoma Territory.

1889 - The first land run was held April 22. At noon, a cannon boom signaled the start of the run, which opened the Unassigned Lands for settlement.

1891 - The Sac and Fox and Pottawatomie-Shawnee Lands, located just east of the original run site, were opened Sept. 21.

1892 - The Cheyenne and Arapaho lands in western Oklahoma were opened for run on April 19.

1893 - The largest and most spectacular run in northern Oklahoma, the Cherokee Strip, was held Sept. 16.

1895 - On May 23, the Kickapoo Land Run was held in central Oklahoma.

1907 - On Nov. 16, Oklahoma became the 46th state to join the Union.