Central Oklahoma

Downtown Oklahoma City (2014), the hub of Central Oklahoma.

Central Oklahoma is the geographical name for the central region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is also known by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism designation, Frontier Country.

Central Oklahoma is dominated by the largest urban area in the state, the Greater Oklahoma City area. Oklahoma City is the political, economic, tourism, commercial, industrial, financial, and geographical hub of the state, as well as being its primary cultural center. The only Central Oklahoma city which is not officially considered a suburb of Oklahoma City is Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Geography

Central Oklahoma is a humid-subtropical region dominated by the Cross Timbers, an area of prairie and patches of forest at the eastern extent of the Great Plains.^[1] 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.

Media

Central Oklahoma is home to The Oklahoman, the most widely circulated in the state. NewsOK.com is the Oklahoman's online presence. okcBIZ is a monthly publication that covers business news affecting those who live and work in Central Oklahoma.

WKY Radio in Oklahoma City was the first radio station transmitting west of the Mississippi River and the third radio station in the United States.^[2] WKY received its federal license in 1921 and has broadcast under the same call letters since 1922. In 1928, the station was purchased by the Oklahoma Publishing Company and affiliated with the NBC Red Network. In 1949, WKY-TV (Channel 4) went on the air and later became the first independently owned television station in the U.S. to broadcast in color.^[2] In mid-2002, WKY radio was purchased outright by Citadel Broadcasting; in 2011, Citadel merged with Cumulus Media, who owns and operates WKY to this day. WKY-TV, which is now KFOR-TV, is currently owned by Tribune Broadcasting as of December 2013.

The major U.S. broadcast television networks have affiliates in Central Oklahoma including NBC affiliate KFOR-TV, ABC affiliate KOCO-TV, CBS affiliate KWTV-DT (owned by locally based Griffin Communications), PBS station KETA-TV (owned by the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority member network), Fox affiliate KOKH-TV, CW affiliate KOCB, independent station KAUT-TV, MyNetworkTV affiliate KSBI, and Ion Television owned-and-operated station KOPX-TV. The region is also home to the Trinity Broadcasting Network owned-and-operated station KTBO-TV and Norman-based Daystar owned-and-operated station KOCM.

Transportation

Will Rogers World Airport, 2006

Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City is the primary airport of the region and the busiest in the state. The airport has one terminal with 17 gates, but is in the process of expansion.^[3] Wiley Post Airport in Bethany and Max Westheimer Airport in Norman serve as reliever airports for Will Rogers Airport.^[4] The region is also home to Tinker Air Force Base, the largest military air depot in the nation; Clarence E. Page Municipal Airport, a city-owned public use airport in Canadian County, Oklahoma; and Sundance Airpark, a privately owned public use airport in Canadian County.

There are no sea ports in Central Oklahoma, as water exports must go through Northeastern Oklahoma via Tulsa, which has one of two 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.

The region is served by the BNSF Railway, the Union Pacific Railroad, and several short-line railroads. Daily passenger service from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, Texas, is provided by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation through a fee-for-service contract with Amtrak.

Union Bus Station in Oklahoma City is the principal bus terminal in the region and the state.

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.

Health

Central Oklahoma is home to the state's oldest and largest single site hospital, St. Anthony Hospital and Physicians Medical Center, and the state's largest teaching hospital and only level-1 trauma center, OU Medical Center. INTEGRIS Health owns multiple hospitals in Central Oklahoma. INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center was named in U.S. News & World Report's 2012 list of Best Hospitals.

Other hospitals include the Midwest Regional Medical Center in Midwest City, the Oklahoma Heart Hospital and the Mercy Health Center, Deaconess Hospital, the Edmond Medical Center, Griffin Memorial Hospital in Norman, the Grady Memorial Hospital in Chickasha, Lakeside Women's Hospital.

References

↑ "Ecoregions of Oklahoma" (PDF). Retrieved September 30, 2013.
1 2 Oklahoma Fast Facts and Trivia. (accessed September 30, 2013)
↑ Brickman, Stefanie (July 23, 2008). "Airport Trust Votes to Approve Contract to Expand Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport". OKC Biz. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
↑ "Max Westheimer Airport". University of Oklahoma. Retrieved September 30, 2013.

Municipalities of the Greater Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area
Population over 500,000	Oklahoma City
Population over 100,000	Norman
Population over 50,000	Edmond Midwest City Moore
Population over 20,000	Del City Shawnee Yukon
Population over 10,000	Bethany Chickasha Choctaw El Reno Guthrie Mustang Warr Acres
Population over 5,000	Blanchard Harrah Newcastle Noble Piedmont Purcell Tecumseh Tuttle The Village
Population over 2,000	Bethel Acres Chandler Jones Lexington McLoud Nichols Hills Nicoma Park Pink Prague Slaughterville Spencer Stroud
Population over 1,000	Crescent Goldsby Langston Luther Maud Meeker Minco Ninnekah Okarche Rush Springs Union City
Population over 500	Alex Calumet Carney Cashion Cole Davenport Dibble Earlsboro Forest Park Valley Brook Verden Washington Wayne Wellston
Population over 200	Agra Amber Arcadia Asher Bridge Creek Byars Cedar Valley Coyle Johnson Marshall Mulhall Tryon Wanette Warwick
Population under 200	Bradley Brooksville Cimarron City Etowah Fallis Kendrick Lake Aluma Macomb Meridian Norge Orlando Pocasset Rosedale Smith Village Sparks St. Louis Tribbey Woodlawn Park
Counties	Canadian Cleveland Grady Logan Lincoln McClain Oklahoma Pottawatomie
Metropolitan Planning Organization	Association of Central Oklahoma Governments

State of Oklahoma
Oklahoma City (capital)
Topics	History Government Governor (List) Symbols People Geography Earthquakes Media Newspapers Radio TV Sports Tourist attractions
Society	Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics
Regions	Arklatex Central Cherokee Outlet Cross Timbers Four State Area Flint Hills Green Country Kiamichi Country Little Dixie Northwestern Oklahoma City Metro Ouachita Mountains The Ozarks Panhandle South Central Southwestern Texoma Tulsa Metro Western
Largest cities	Ardmore Bartlesville Bixby Broken Arrow Del City Duncan Edmond Enid Lawton Midwest City Muskogee Moore Norman Oklahoma City Owasso Ponca City Shawnee Stillwater Tulsa Yukon
Counties	Adair Alfalfa Atoka Beaver Beckham Blaine Bryan Caddo Canadian Carter Cherokee Choctaw Cimarron Cleveland Coal Comanche Cotton Craig Creek Custer Delaware Dewey Ellis Garfield Garvin Grady Grant Greer Harmon Harper Haskell Hughes Jackson Jefferson Johnston Kay Kingfisher Kiowa Latimer Le Flore Lincoln Logan Love Major Marshall Mayes McClain McCurtain McIntosh Murray Muskogee Noble Nowata Okfuskee Oklahoma Okmulgee Osage Ottawa Pawnee Payne Pittsburg Pontotoc Pottawatomie Pushmataha Roger Mills Rogers Seminole Sequoyah Stephens Texas Tillman Tulsa Wagoner Washington Washita Woods Woodward

Coordinates: 35°30′N 97°30′W / 35.5°N 97.5°W / 35.5; -97.5

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