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Of all the states, when it comes to classification, Oklahoma, to me, is one of the most problematic. It's tough to shoehorn parts of the state into any region.
Oklahoma is a Plains state more than anything else. You can place it in the Midwest or in the South as a secondary attribute qualifier in some areas. It has little if any Southwestern attributes. Texas is also largely a Plains state but overlaps due to its size into the South, and maybe Midwest, and the Southwest near El Paso. Oklahoma was the route for many cattle drives so it has a (Plains) Cowboy heritage about it that doesn't exist in many other Midwest states or in the Mountain, Southwest, or Southern states. There is a southern feel to parts in the southeast corner and along the Arkansas/Ozark border. Kansas is a Plains State once you are 50 miles west of Missouri. Nebraska as well but the rivers make it appear a little different.
The easiest and most accurate way to describe Oklahoma is a state that overlaps and transitions between multiple regions. You can't go to a place like Enid or Ponca City and deny that it's more Midwestern than anything, just like you couldn't go to a place like Durant and say it isn't Southern.
Because it was set aside as Indian Territory, Oklahoma had the unique circumstance of not joining the union until decades after the surrounding states, once regional identities had solidified to a large extent. Perhaps this history has continued to influence the state's "mixed" regional affiliation over a century later. Oklahoma has similarities with its neighbors but isn't a particularly strong replica for any other specific state, the way one could argue for Nebraska and Kansas with each other (as an example).
To some degree yes, particularly in the southern plains there is a Hispanic population, but overall it is a very white region of the country, especially in Nebraska and the Dakotas. Wyoming/Montana also fall into the plains region and are some of the whitest states by percentage in the US.
As someone who went to college in NE, it didn't feel very diverse at all there. At least as someone who hails from a place with a huge black and Hispanic population.
The Northern Plains are not diverse in general compared to major metropolitan areas or much of the Sunbelt, but nor is Appalachia or the less populous parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast. I guess it depends on what places a location is compared with ... I would tend to not have the same expectations for predominantly rural/small city environments vs. large metro areas.
Some don’t realize Oklahoma has mountains. The Kiamichi mountains, Mount Scott, Glass Mountains, Arbuckle Mountains, Ouachita range, Wichita Mountains, and others.
There are more than that within the Midwest. The great river valleys (Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri) are strong cultural and geographic features -- but not all the same. There are Plains states and Prairie states. We can confuse things even more -- the Mississippi River Delta Region reaches all the way into the southern counties of Illinois and the southeast Missouri counties.
We can divide things up ad infinitum based on language/accent, religion, culture, food, vegetation/wildlife, crops, climate, etc., etc. but it is Midwestern probably from some point in eastern Ohio westward to somewhere west of Missouri and Iowa. Maybe the Greater Midwest includes the Great Plains (Dakotas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and parts of Texas) but those areas are quite different in many ways.
Oklahoma is a Plains state more than anything else. You can place it in the Midwest or in the South as a secondary attribute qualifier in some areas. It has little if any Southwestern attributes. Texas is also largely a Plains state but overlaps due to its size into the South, and maybe Midwest, and the Southwest near El Paso. Oklahoma was the route for many cattle drives so it has a (Plains) Cowboy heritage about it that doesn't exist in many other Midwest states or in the Mountain, Southwest, or Southern states. There is a southern feel to parts in the southeast corner and along the Arkansas/Ozark border. Kansas is a Plains State once you are 50 miles west of Missouri. Nebraska as well but the rivers make it appear a little different.
There are some very Southwestern parts of Oklahoma. It's maybe less that than it is Southern or Midwestern, but I think when you get into the SW corner of the state there are lots of small mountains, mesas, table lands, washes, etc that get just enough rain for agriculture to exist, but it stops having a plains topography too.
There are more than that within the Midwest. The great river valleys (Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri) are strong cultural and geographic features -- but not all the same. There are Plains states and Prairie states. We can confuse things even more -- the Mississippi River Delta Region reaches all the way into the southern counties of Illinois and the southeast Missouri counties.
We can divide things up ad infinitum based on language/accent, religion, culture, food, vegetation/wildlife, crops, climate, etc., etc. but it is Midwestern probably from some point in eastern Ohio westward to somewhere west of Missouri and Iowa. Maybe the Greater Midwest includes the Great Plains (Dakotas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and parts of Texas) but those areas are quite different in many ways.
Just to show how little visual difference exists between what people call Plains vs Midwest in here, here's a comparison of Kansas well west of Missouri, and Iowa near the Minnesota border
I've always felt that Texas and Oklahoma were kind of their own thing. Feels a little different than the traditional South or the Midwest, but not quite west enough to be a truly Western.
I've always felt that Texas and Oklahoma were kind of their own thing. Feels a little different than the traditional South or the Midwest, but not quite west enough to be a truly Western.
Best answer. I agree completely...they are completely their own thing. And can be. Just because some want to squeeze them into a shoe that doesn't fit, it's not necessary, really.
I've always felt that Texas and Oklahoma were kind of their own thing. Feels a little different than the traditional South or the Midwest, but not quite west enough to be a truly Western.
I definitely agree with this. Both have parts that seem Midwestern, and parts that seem Southern, and parts that seem Western, but never in enough quantity to fully push them in any direction.
On top of that, Texas has some heavy Mexican influence and a large chunk of the state truly has it's own unique culture that kind of blends American South, Mexican, German, and Czech influences.
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