Oklahoma is one of the South Central United States and is characterized by the Great Plains, the Cross Timbers ecoregion and the U.S. Interior Highlands. The state's name comes from the Choctaw language and roughly means "red people." Among the prehistoric cultures that developed in Oklahoma were the Panhandle culture and the Caddoan Mississippian culture, the latter of which also built the Spiro Mounds. In addition, the Wichita, Tonkawa and Plains Apache peoples inhabited the area prior to contact with Europeans. After the first Spanish expeditions starting in 1541, the Comanche and Kiowa migrated to the region as well. France laid claim to the area in 1682, but ceded it to Spain during the Seven Years' War in 1762. However, very few European settlements were established. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States acquired the large area that encompassed present-day Oklahoma. After several territorial changes, it was designated Indian Territory in 1834.

Between 1830 and 1850, about 60,000 people, mostly from the so-called "Five Civilized Tribes", the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole, were forcibly relocated to the territory. White settlement increased after the Indian Appropriations Act, leading to the Land Rush of 1889. Colonists who began settling the Unassigned Lands before official approval were colloquially referred to as "Sooners", later earning Oklahoma the nickname "The Sooner State". In 1907, Oklahoma was admitted to the Union as the 46^th state. Its motto is "Oklahoma - In God We Trust".

Oklahoma's capital is Oklahoma City. With the economic boom brought about by the discovery of large oil deposits in 1928, the population grew, as did the number of skyscrapers. The tallest is Devon Tower, at 844 feet (257 m). The Golden Driller statue was erected in 1953 and declared an Oklahoma state monument in 1979. The structure stands 75 feet (23 m) tall in front of the Expo Center in Tulsa.

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