Central Oklahoma
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- See also: Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area
Central Oklahoma is the geographical name for the central region of the state. It is also known by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism designation, Frontier Country.
The Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area is the primary economic, tourism, commercial, industrial, and grographical hub of Central Oklahoma, as well as its primary cultural center, as the vast majority of Central Oklahoma's residents live in the greater Oklahoma City area. The only Central Oklahoma city which is not considered a suburb of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area is Stillwater.
[edit] Geography
Central Oklahoma is a semi-arid to humid-subtropical region dominated the Cross Timbers, an area of prairie and patches of forest at the eastern extent of the Great Plains. The region is essentially a transition buffer between the wetter and more forested Eastern Oklahoma and the semi-arid high plains of Western Oklahoma, and experiences extreme swings between dry and wet weather patterns. Climate is dominated by large differences in annual rainfall totals, with Central Oklahoma's western boundary receiving far less rain than compared to its eastern boundary.
Because of these convergences of dry and wet weather patters, Central Oklahoma is at the heart of what is known as Tornado Alley, and is one of the most tornado-prone areas in the United States.
[edit] Infrastructure
While Stillwater has a commercial use airport, Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City is the primary airport of the region. There are no sea ports in Central Oklahoma, as water exports must go through Northeastern Oklahoma via Tulsa, which has the only large-scale seaport in the state.
There are four primary highways in Central Oklahoma. Interstate 35 connects the region with Texas and Kansas to the south and north, Interstate 40 connects with West Texas and Arkansas, and Interstate 44 is a turnpike its entire duration through the region (except within Oklahoma City), and traverses from Southwest Oklahoma to Missouri. It is Oklahoma City's only connection with the state's second largest city, Tulsa.
U.S. Highway 412 connects Stillwater to nearby Enid to the west, and Tulsa to the east.
[edit] Higher Education
Central Oklahoma is an important hub of higher education. The region contains both the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, and Oklahoma State University, in Stillwater, the state's largest universities. Other important schools include Oklahoma Christian University, Oklahoma City University, University of Central Oklahoma, Langston University, and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, in Chickasha.
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