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Map of Oklahoma (OK)

A herd of bison in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The nature reserve is famous for housing a rare piece of the past - a remnant of a mixed-grass prairie, where the natural grass carpet has escaped destruction.
Image: Larry Smith

Oklahoma State Map

More about Oklahoma State



Area
Oklahoma covers an area of 181,195 km² (69,898 sq mi); ^[1] compared it is somewhat smaller than twice the size of Portugal. Compared with other US states, Oklahoma is eight times larger than New Jersey, but it would fit into Texas almost four times.

Oklahoma is divided into 77 counties.

Climate
Oklahoma lies in a transition zone with both humid subtropical and steppe climate regions. The state is located in an area in the center of the United States known as 'Tornado Alley,' where mobile, destructive violently rotating winds are quite common.


Some Geography
Oklahoma's landscape gradually rises from the low wetlands of the southeast to the high plains of its western boundary.
The western part of its area lies in the southern Great Plains. The Ozark Mountains with the Springfield Plateau extend into the northeastern portion of the state.

South of the Ozarks extends the Arkansas River Valley, which separates the Ozark Plateau from the sandstone ridges of the Ouachita Mountains in the Ouachita Fold and Thrust Belt, a part of the U.S. Interior Highlands.


Oklahoma's Geographical Regions
The Sooner State has a piece of almost every major geographical region of the South Central United States.

1. Oklahoma's panhandle to the west lies on an almost treeless, semi-arid plateau known as the High Plains, a subregion of the much larger Great Plains of the Central United States. The High Plains are home to the state's highest point, known as the Black Mesa at 1516 m (4,973 ft ).

2. To the east of the High Plains are the Gypsum Hills, a semi-arid region in central Kansas and western Oklahoma, the landscape offers areas of mixed-grass prairie and gypsum outcrops, rolling hills, mesas, canyons, buttes, caves, and – dunes in Little Sahara.

3. East of the Gypsum Hills expands the Red Bed Plains, a region extending north/south through the middle of the state. The area offers flat plains and gently rolling hills made of stratified rocks, layered deposits of shale, sandstone and red mudstone; it is Oklahoma's largest region.

4. Within the southwestern portion of the Red Bed Plains rise the Wichita Mountains, rocky promontories and rounded hills made of red and black igneous rocks (cooled lava, granite, and rhyolite).
The Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge is one of the oldest managed wildlife facilities in the United States.

5. To the east of the Red Bed Plains is the area of the Sandstone Hills, a region of gently rolling hills, cut by steep-walled canyons, and bordered in the south by the Arbuckle Mountains.

6. To the south of the Sandstone Hills are the ancient Arbuckle Mountains, a worn-out, folded, and faulted mountain range, which rises about 180 m to 210 m (600 to 700 ft) above the plains. Erosion has sculpted some bizarre rock formations in this area, and open-pit mining and quarries create patches of a moonscape. The Arbuckle mountains are composed of ancient bedrock and many layers of sedimentary rocks (dolomitic limestone). Turner Falls, a 23 m (77 ft) cascade on Honey Creek within the Arbuckle Mountains, is a popular tourist destination.

7. The Prairie Plains between the Sandstone Hills and the Ozark Plateau is predominantly an agricultural region. Still, it is in this region, especially in the Arkoma Basin, where oil and natural gas are produced.
The Prairie Plains and the Arkansas River Valley are also the areas with the most coal mining in the state.

8. The fertile Red River Plains along the Texas border is a landscape of rolling prairies interspersed with some forested hills. In this agricultural region, cotton, peanuts, soybeans, and vegetables are cultivated in the sandy soil.

9. Situated between the Arkansas River Valley and the Red River Plains are the densely wooded Ouachita Mountains, a fold-and-thrust belt of southeastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. The rugged range of big hills was formed about 300 million years ago. The Ouachitas are part of the US Interior Highlands, the only major mountainous region between the Rockies and the Appalachians. Mt Magazine in Arkansas is with an elevation of 839 m (2,753 ft), the highest point in the Ouachitas.

10. To the north of the Ouachita Mountains across the Arkansas River Valley reaches two sections of the Ozark Plateau into Oklahoma, the Springfield Plateau, and the Boston Mountains. A landscape with wooded, rolling hills, and rounded ridges separated by narrow, steep-sided valleys. Elevations range from about 200 m to 500 m (650 to 1640 ft) a.s.l.. The plateau consists of about 70 percent forest, 20 percent pasture, and 10 percent cropland. ^[2]

Highest Point


Oklahoma's highest point is the Black Mesa in the High Plains Region at 1516 m (4,973 ft ), no peak, just flat shortgrass prairie, the mesa (tableland) is located in the northern corner of the Oklahoma panhandle. The Black Mesa is part of a larger range of flat-topped hills, which extends into New Mexico.


Rivers
Oklahoma's main rivers are the Arkansas River with its tributaries, the Canadian, and the Cimarron Rivers. The Red River, a major tributary of the Mississippi, forms a section of Oklahoma's southern border with Texas.

Population


Oklahoma is quite sparsely populated, the "Sooner State" (one of its nicknames) has a population of 3.95 million people (2019 est.). ^[3]

The capital and largest city is Oklahoma City, the largest urban area is Oklahoma City metropolitan area. Oklahoma City and Tulsa are the state's main economic centers.


Race and Ethnic Groups
Oklahoma's population is predominantly
white 65.3%, Hispanic or Latino 10.9%, Native Americans 9.3%, African American 7.8%, and Asian 2.3%. ^[4]


The largest airports in the state are Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport (IATA code: OKC), and Tulsa International Airport (IATA code: TUL).


Cities and Towns in Oklahoma

The map shows the location of following cities and towns in Oklahoma:

Largest cities in Oklahoma with a population of more than 50,000 (est. 2012):
Oklahoma City (547,000), Tulsa (384,000), Norman (107,000), Lawton (92,000), Broken Arrow (part of the Oklahoma City metro, pop. 91,000), Edmond (part of the Oklahoma City metro, pop. 78,000), Midwest City (part of the Oklahoma City metro, pop. 55,000), Moore (part of the Oklahoma City metro, pop. 51,000)

Other cities and places shown on the map.


Ada, Altus, Alva, Anadarko, Antlers, Ardmore, Atoka,
Bartlesville, Blackwell, Boise City, Buffalo,
Chickasha, Claremore, Clinton, Coalgate, Cushing,
Duncan, Durant, El Reno, Elk City, Enid, Eufaula, Frederick,
Grove, Guthrie, Guymon,
Henryetta, Hobart, Holdenville, Hugo, Idabel,
Madill, McAlester, Miami, Muskogee, Okmulgee, Pauls Valley, Pawhuska, Perry, Ponca City, Poteau, Pryor,
Sapulpa, Sayre, Seiling, Seminole, Shattuck, Shawnee, Stillwater, Sulphur,
Tahlequah, Vinita, Watonga, Waurika, and Woodward.
 

Indian Summer landscape in Murray county Oklahoma.
Image: Mike Trimble