OKLAHOMA
- Origin of name: From the Choctaw words; “Okla” meaning people and “humma” meaning red, which literally means “red people”
- Capital: Oklahoma city
- Largest city: Oklahoma city
- Population: 3,850,568 (2013 est) Ranked 28th in the US.
- Nicknames: Sooner state
- Highest point: Black mesa 4,973 ft
- Admission to union: November 16th, 1907 (46th)
- State motto: Labor conquers all things
- State song: Oklahoma
- State tree: Redbud
- State flower: Mistletoe
- State bird: Wild turkey
- Area: 69,898 sq mi. Ranked 20th in the US
Did you know……...
1) Oklahoma's four mountain ranges include the Ouachitas, Arbuckles, Wichitas and the Kiamichis.
2) Spiro Mounds, Oklahoma's only archaeological park, is a 140-acre site encompassing 12 southern mounds that contain evidence of an Indian culture that occupied the site from 850 A.D. to 1450 A.D. The Mounds are considered one of the four most important prehistoric Indian sites east of the Rocky Mountains.
3) Oklahoma has more man-made lakes than any other state, with over one million surface acres of water.
4) Originally Indian Territory, the state of Oklahoma was opened to settlers in a "Land Rush" in 1889. On a given date, prospective settlers would be allowed into the territory to claim plots of land by grabbing the stakes marking each plot. A few of these settlers entered to claim land before the official start of the land run; these cheaters were called "Sooners".
5) Oklahoma is one of only two states whose capital cities name includes the state name. The other is Indianapolis, Indiana.