Portal:Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Portal

Oklahoma (/ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/ ^ⓘ OH-klə-HOH-mə; Choctaw: Oklahumma, pronounced [oklahómma]), is a landlocked state in the South Central, Southern, and Southwestern regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the southwest, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northeast, Arkansas to the southeast, New Mexico to the west, and Colorado to the northwest. Partially in the western extreme of the Upland South, it is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla, 'people' and humma, which translates as 'red'. Oklahoma is also known informally by its nickname, "The Sooner State", in reference to the Sooners, American settlers who staked their claims in formerly American Indian-owned lands until the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 authorized the Land Rush of 1889 opening the land to settlement.

With ancient mountain ranges, prairie, mesas, and eastern forests, most of Oklahoma lies in the Great Plains, Cross Timbers, and the U.S. Interior Highlands, all regions prone to severe weather. Oklahoma is at a confluence of three major American cultural regions. Historically, it served as a government-sanctioned territory for American Indians moved from east of the Mississippi River, a route for cattle drives from Texas and related regions, and a destination for Southern settlers. There are currently 25. According to the 2020 U.S. census, 14.2 percent of Oklahomans identify as American Indians, the highest Indigenous population by percentage out of any state.

A major producer of natural gas, oil, and agricultural products, Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahoma's primary economic anchors, with nearly two-thirds of Oklahomans living within their metropolitan statistical areas. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

First hardcover edition, 1967

The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel by S. E. Hinton published in 1967 by Viking Press. The novel is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1960s—although this is never explicitly stated in the book—and details the conflict between two rival gangs of White Americans divided by their socioeconomic status: the working-class "greasers" and the upper-middle-class "Socs" (pronounced /ˈsoʊʃɪz/ SOH-shiz—short for Socials). The story is told in first-person perspective by teenage protagonist Ponyboy Curtis.

Hinton began writing the novel when she was 15 and wrote the bulk of it when she was 16 and a junior in high school. She was 18 when the book was published. She released the work using her initials rather than her feminine given names (Susan Eloise) so that her gender would not lead male book reviewers to dismiss the work. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Spotlight city - show another

Veterans Day Parade down Grand Avenue in front of the Ponca City Civic Center and Town Hall

Ponca City (Iowa-Oto: Chína Uhánⁿdhe) is a city in Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The city was named after the Ponca tribe. Ponca City had a population of 24,424 in the 2020 census, down from 25,387 at the time of the 2010 census. (Full article...)

List of spotlight cities

See List of municipalities in Oklahoma for more city articles

edit

Selected picture

Credit: User:Okiefromokla
The Glass Mountains in Oklahoma. Taken from the top of a mesa at Glass Mountains State Park.

More selected pictures

Featured content

Featured articles: Black Seminoles • Chickasaw Turnpike • Jim Thorpe • Oklahoma • Tulsa, Oklahoma • Woody Guthrie • Oklahoma City bombing • Brad Pitt

Featured lists: Oklahoma birds • Tallest buildings in Tulsa • List of tallest buildings in Oklahoma City • List of birds of Oklahoma • List of Oklahoma Sooners football seasons • List of Oklahoma Sooners head football coaches • List of Oklahoma Sooners in the NFL Draft

State facts

Nickname:The Sooner State
Capital and largest city: Oklahoma City
Governor: Kevin Stitt (R)
Total area: 181,196 square kilometers (69,960 square miles)
Population (2020 census): 3,959,353
Date admitted to the Union: November 16, 1907
Senators: Alan S. Armstrong (R), James Lankford (R)
Representatives: Kevin Hern (R), Josh Brecheen (R), Frank Lucas (R), Tom Cole (R), Stephanie Bice (R)

State symbols

Mammal: Bison
Bird: Scissor-tailed flycatcher
Fish: White bass
Floral emblem: Mistletoe
Flower: Oklahoma Rose
Grass: Indian grass
Insect: Honeybee
Tree: Redbud
Fossil: Allosaurid dinosaur
Rock: Rose Rock
Soil: Port Silt Loam
Song: Oklahoma!
Beverage: Milk

Selected biography - show another

Rogers in 1922

William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory, now part of Oklahoma, and is known as "Oklahoma's Favorite Son". As an entertainer and humorist, he traveled around the world three times, made 71 films (50 silent films and 21 "talkies"), and wrote more than 4,000 nationally syndicated newspaper columns. By the mid-1930s, Rogers was hugely popular in the United States for his leading political wit and was one of the higher paid Hollywood film stars. He died in 1935 with aviator Wiley Post when their small airplane crashed on takeoff from a lagoon near Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska, in northern Alaska.

Rogers began his career as a performer on vaudeville. His rope act led to success in the Ziegfeld Follies, which in turn led to the first of his many movie contracts. His 1920s syndicated newspaper column and his radio appearances increased his visibility and popularity. Rogers crusaded for aviation expansion and provided Americans with first-hand accounts of his world travels. His earthy anecdotes and folksy style allowed him to poke fun at gangsters, prohibition, politicians, government programs, and a host of other controversial topics in a way that found general acclaim from a national audience with, usually, no one offended. His aphorisms, couched in humorous terms, were widely quoted, for example, "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat." (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

Did you know - load new batch

... that Joe Eddins helped conservative Oklahoma enact universal preschool?
... that an Oklahoma TV station returned to its original call sign after the death of its founder, Gene Autry?
... that the morning show on an Oklahoma TV station was such a "local phenomenon" that the president of ABC acquiesced to them not airing Good Morning America?
... that the three costliest tornadoes in Oklahoma's history hit the same town in 2013, in 1999 and in 2003?
... that the U.S. state of Oklahoma was not allowed to ban Sharia law?
... that after a 2008 tornado, Michael Chertoff likened Picher, Oklahoma, to a nuclear bomb site?

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various Oklahoma-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Oklahoma and Indian Territory, 1890s (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 2Cartoonist's rendering of Theodore Roosevelt's initial reaction to the Oklahoma Constitution.^{[needs context]} (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 3Map of Indian Territory (Oklahoma) 1889. Britannica 9th ed. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 4Gushers brought in many of Oklahoma's early oil fields—this one on February 21, 1922, near Okemah. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 5Map showing British territorial gains following the Treaty of Paris in pink, and Spanish territorial gains after the Treaty of Fontainebleau in yellow. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 6US 1822 (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 7Regional map of Oklahoma (from Geography of Oklahoma)
Image 8Caddoan Languages (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 9American Indian Movement poster from civil rights era (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 10The Great Plains (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 11Spiro Mounds on the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 12The Republic of Texas. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 13The modern United States, with Louisiana Purchase overlay (in green) (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 14The Dust Bowl ravaged the Oklahoma Panhandle and nearby areas in the 1930s. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 15Poor mother and children during the Great Depression. Elm Grove, Oklahoma (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 16Map of the United States with Oklahoma highlighted (from List of municipalities in Oklahoma)
Image 17Geographic map of Oklahoma (from Geography of Oklahoma)
Image 18Allen Wright, a Choctaw minister, scholar and chief, is credited as the state's founding father for creating the state's name in 1865. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 19Oklahoma topographical map (from Geography of Oklahoma)
Image 20Routes to Indian Territory taken by the Five Civilized Tribes, often known as the Trail of Tears. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 21Köppen climate types of Oklahoma, using 1991-2020 climate normals. (from Geography of Oklahoma)
Image 22The Coronado Expedition 1540–1542 (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 23Flag of Oklahoma (from History of Oklahoma)

Related portals

Wikiprojects


WikiProject Oklahoma	Oklahoma State Highways	Missing articles on Oklahoma newspapers	Taskforce Tulsa

edit

Things you can do

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Article requests : Julius Jones (death row inmate): A death row inmate in Oklahoma
Expand : Deep Deuce, Oklahoma City, University of Oklahoma, Will Rogers, List of Oklahoma rivers
Photo : Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Oklahoma
Stubs : See Category:Oklahoma stubs

Oklahoma topics

New articles

This list was generated from these rules. Questions and feedback are always welcome! The search is being run daily with the most recent ~14 days of results. Note: Some articles may not be relevant to this project.

Rules | Match log | Results page (for watching) | Deleted articles| Last updated: 2026-08-08 20:22 (UTC)

Note: The list display can now be customized by each user. See List display personalization for details.