Welcome to Oklahoma
"The Sooner State" For many, it's hard not to hear the word Oklahoma without getting the title song from the eponymous 1943 Rogers and Hammerstein musical stuck on a mental loop. Most Oklahomans probably don't mind the association though—they did, after all, make "Oklahoma!" the state song in 1953. The state's name is derived from a Choctaw phrase meaning "red people," and its Native American history is particularly rich and deep. Once known as Indian Territory and set aside for sole Native American use during U.S. western expansion, the region stopped short of becoming a self-governing Native state with Oklahoma's admission to the Union in 1907. Today, Oklahoma is known as the epicenter of "Tornado Alley" and is perhaps notorious for its recent history as a place of abject poverty during the Dustbowl years of the Great Depression. (As immortalized in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, settlers moving west to escape the drought were dubbed "Okies.") But Oklahoma has recovered nicely. From 2000 to 2006, its GDP grew 50 percent, the fifth-highest growth rate in the nation. It ranks second in the production of natural gas, has been named one of the nation's most business-friendly states, and is home to the largest airline maintenance base in the world (in Tulsa). Modern Oklahoma may be "OK," as the song goes, but it certainly offers more than just windswept plains. State Name: Oklahoma State Nickname: "The Sooner State"  State Motto: Labor omnia vincit ("Hard work conquers all") Name for Residents: Oklahoman, Sooner Abbreviation: OK Time Zone: Central, GMT/UTC -6 / -5 (Daylight Savings Time) Capital City: Oklahoma City  Date of Statehood: November 16, 1907 Statehood Rank: 46th State Area: 69,898 square miles (181,195 km²) Area Rank: 20 of 50 Number of Counties: 77 State Population: 3,642,361 (2008 estimate) Largest Cities:     Oklahoma City - 574,274 (2007)     Tulsa - 384,037 (2007)     Norman - 106,707 (2007) Major Rivers:     Red River - Length: 1,360 mi (2,190 km)     Arkansas River - Length: 1,469 mi (2,364 km)     Little River - Length: 220 mi (335 km) Highest Point: Black Mesa, 4,973 ft (1,515 m) Lowest Point: Little River, 289 ft (88 m) Bordering States and Countries:     Kansas (North)     Arkansas (East)     Missouri (East)     Texas (South and West)     New Mexico (West)     Colorado (Northwest) Record High Temperature:     120°F (49°C)     June 27, 1994 at Tipton Record Low Temperature:     -27°F (-33°C)     January 18, 1930 at Watts
	Oklahoma State Flag Oklahoma State Seal Oklahoma Location Map Oklahoma
	Author: World Trade Press