Oklahoma Flag on Our Flagpole

Oklahoma – The Sooner State

Transportation Map of Oklahoma
Transportation Map of Oklahoma

More than 12,000 miles of roads make up the state’s major highway skeleton, including state-operated highways, ten turnpikes or major toll roads, and the longest drivable stretch of Route 66 in the nation.

Oklahoma’s largest commercial airport is Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, averaging a yearly passenger count of more than 3.5 million (1.7 million boardings) in 2010.  Tulsa International Airport, the state’s second-largest commercial airport, served more than 1.3 million boardings in 2010.  Between the two, six airlines operate in Oklahoma.  In terms of traffic, Tulsa International Airport is the state’s busiest airport, with 335,826 takeoffs and landings in 2008.  Smaller airports with limited commercial service include Lawton-Fort Sill Regional and Stillwater Regional Airport.

Will Rogers World Airport
Will Rogers World Airport

Oklahoma is connected to the nation’s rail network via Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer, its only regional passenger rail line.  It currently stretches from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, Texas, though lawmakers began seeking funding in early 2007 to connect the Heartland Flyer to Tulsa.

Two inland ports on rivers serve Oklahoma: the Port of Muskogee and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa.  The state’s only port handling international cargo, the Tulsa Port of Catoosa is the most inland ocean-going port in the nation and ships over two million tons of cargo each year.  Both ports are on the McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, which connects barge traffic from Tulsa and Muskogee to the Mississippi River via the Verdigris and Arkansas rivers, contributing to one of the busiest waterways in the world.

The Flag of Oklahoma:

The flag of the state of Oklahoma consists of a traditional Osage Nation buffalo-skin shield with seven eagle feathers on a sky blue field.

Current Flag of Oklahoma
Current Flag of Oklahoma

The Osage shield is covered by two symbols of peace: the Plains-style ceremonial pipe representing Native Americans, and the olive branch representing European Americans.  Six golden brown crosses, Native American symbols for stars, are spaced on the shield.  The blue field is inspired by the Choctaw flag adopted by the tribe in 1860 and carried though the American Civil War.  The blue field also represents devotion.  The shield surmounted by the calumet and olive branch represents defensive or protective warfare, showing a love of peace by a united people.

Oklahoma’s first flag was adopted in 1911, four years after statehood.  Taking the colors red, white, and blue from the flag of the United States, the flag featured a large centered white star fimbriated in blue on a red field.  The number 46 was written in blue inside the star, as Oklahoma was the forty-sixth state to join the Union.

Oklahoma Flag from 1911 to 1925
Oklahoma Flag from 1911 to 1925

A contest, sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution, was held in 1924 to replace the flag, as red flags were closely associated with the red flag of communism.  The winning entry by Louise Fluke, which was adopted as the state flag on April 2, 1925, resembled the current flag without the word Oklahoma on it.

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