Oklahoma City (population 552,000) is both the capital of
Oklahoma and its largest city. It is located in central Oklahoma. Highway access is from Interstates 35, 40, and 44. The Will Rodgers World Airport is Oklahoma City’s air hub. It offers non-stop flights to many major
US cities.
The climate of Oklahoma City ranges from boiling to freezing, depending on the season. Average high in the summer is 94 degrees whereas in the winter it can dip down to an average low of 25 degrees. Average annual precipitation comes in at about 33 inches.
Oklahoma City began in 1889, as a tent city populated by Sooners, people who snuck across the Oklahoma border prior to it being opened by the US government. By 1910, Oklahoma City had 60,000 people and became the state capital. Early Oklahoma City wealth came from its surrounding oil fields, but these wells all but dried up in the 1960’s, and any recovery efforts failed by the 1990’s. Today, Oklahoma City has revived its downtown district by creating Bricktown, the city’s place to go for shopping, restaurants, and cultural activities.
Oklahoma City also has many museums that showcase its Native American and cowboy heritage. Frontier City and White Water Bay are two amusement parks within an easy drive from downtown. The Ford Center is an arena that hosts Oklahoma City’s NBA team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The city also has an arena football team and one of the nation’s top-rated minor league baseball teams.
