Oklahoma State Facts, Symbols and History

Oklahoma Fast Facts

Capital: Oklahoma City (popularity). 547,274 (2010 est.)

Oklahoma population: 3,814,820 ( 2012 est.) (28th)

Oklahoma Quarter: The first quarter commemorative coin issued in 2008 honors Oklahoma and is the 46th coin in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program.Oklahoma, “Formerly a State”, was admitted to the Union on November 16, 1907, becoming our Nation’s 46th State. The Oklahoma Quarter shows an image of the Scissotail flycatcher, (State Bird), in flight. The bird flies over the Indian Quilt, the state wildflower.Coin inscriptions read “Oklahoma” and “1907”.The Indian Quilt symbolizes the State Native American heritage and native tall grass prairies with abundant wildlife. Oklahoma was formed by the combination of the Oklahoma Territory and the Territory of the Five Civilized Tribes: Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee.The name, Oklahoma, is derived from the Choctaw Indian words “okla” and “human” meaning “red” and “people” .

Language: English, others

Largest Cities: (by population) Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman, Lawton, Broken Arrow, Edmond

Name: Name reportedly derived from two Indian Choctaw words ” ukla and huma ” combined they mean ” Red People or Red Man ”

Statehood: November 16, 1907 (46th state)

Symbols of Oklahoma

• Animal: American buffalo (buffalo)
• Bird: cut with scissors – hunted flycatcher
• Flag of Oklahoma
• Flower: Oklahoma rose
• Insect: honey bee
• Motto: “Labour Omnia Vincit” (Labour conquers all things)
• Nicknames: (most used) Formerly state (name given to settlers who arrived early (illegally) to claim unappointed land discoveries)
• Song: Oklahoma
• State seal
• Tree: Redbud

Oklahoma Geostatistics

• Land area:
  (land)68,667 sq. miles
  (water) 1,224 sq. miles
  (FULL) 69,891 sq. mile
• Land area: (all states)
• Horizontal Width: 467 miles
• Vertical Length: 232 miles Note: Maximum lengths and widths are point to point, straight line measurements from the Mercator map projection and will vary some usage of other map projections
• Border States: (6) New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas
• Districts: (77) map
• County: (largest in population) Oklahoma, 660,448
• Geographic Center: approximately 8 miles directly north of Oklahoma City
• Tallest Point: Black Table Mountain, 4,973 ft.
• Lowest Point: Along Little River, just south of Shawnee, 289 feet.
• Latitude and longitude
• Average Elevation: 1,312 feet

Oklahoma is a state in the south-central United States. Population 3,850,568 (2013 data). The capital and largest city is Oklahoma City. The name Oklahoma comes from the Choctaw Indian language, in which it means “red people”. The official nickname is the “Sooner State”, or the “Sooner State”. See cities and towns in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma has an area of 181,196 sq. km (20th place in the USA). The state borders Arkansas and Missouri to the east, Texas to the south, New Mexico to the west, and Colorado and Kansas to the north.

Before the arrival of Europeans, Indian tribes lived in Oklahoma – Wichita, Kuapo, Caddo and Osage. In the 16th century, Spanish expeditions appeared here. Then for some time the territory was disputed between Spain and France.

In the 1830s Oklahoma, which had the status of Indian Territory, became one of the places where the natives were resettled in accordance with the Indian Removal Act.

During the Civil War, different tribes of Indians supported different sides. In 1861, many tribes, notably the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Seminole, entered into alliance agreements with the Confederates. After the war, in 1866, the federal government forced the Indians into new agreements. Most of the Indian territory passed to the US government.

• AbbreviationFinder: Demonstrates how the two-letter acronym of OK stands for Oklahoma and a list of frequently used abbreviations related to the state of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma officially became part of the United States on November 16, 1907, becoming the 46th state.

The economy of Oklahoma is based on the development of oil and gas fields, as well as agriculture and the food industry.