# Where is Oklahoma? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735 "2007-09-27T21:27:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/41 "2007-09-28T00:16:11Z")
You have to be less specific and call it that ‘Mountain States’. I think Las Vegas fits more accurately with southern California than with Montana, though, but that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/42 "2007-09-28T00:40:30Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] And West Texas is most definitely Southwest. [/QUOTE] I can buy that. But what is Central Texas? As a real Southerner, I can tell you it ain’t Southern. No way is Dallas, Austin, or San Antonio Southern. But they’re not particularly Southwern either. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/43 "2007-09-28T01:02:05Z")
There are a few states that don’t belong to any region. Oklahoma is one of them. Minnesota and Nevada are the other two that I can’t seem to place in any region. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/44 "2007-09-28T01:05:11Z")
Indian territory from an Arkansas viewpoint. Ft. Smith, Judge Parker and all that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/45 "2007-09-28T01:45:54Z")
[QUOTE=tremorviolet] I can buy that. But what is Central Texas? As a real Southerner, I can tell you it ain’t Southern. No way is Dallas, Austin, or San Antonio Southern. But they’re not particularly Southwern either. [/QUOTE] Central Texas is just Texas. It’s so much of a stew that it can’t be anything but what it is: Alta Mexico, Germany, The South, Urban Chaos, Yuppies in cowboy hats…it is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/46 "2007-09-28T01:52:34Z")
[QUOTE=groman] What part of the Rocky Mountains is in Nevada? [/QUOTE] Point. Strictly speaking, no part. But it fits with those states better than other categories. There ARE mountains in it. I’m not the only one to include it. The [answers.com](http://answers.com) writeup matches my list: > **[Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions](https://www.answers.com/redirectSearch?query=mountain-states)** > > Answers is the place to go to get the answers you need and to ask the questions you want If you like, just call them the “Mountain States”, and drop off the word “Rocky”, as mentioned, or consider ranges like the Humboldt range to be honorary Rockies. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/47 "2007-09-28T01:56:06Z")
[QUOTE=tremorviolet] Yeah, I moved to Texas from the deep South (Georgia) and the cultural differences took some getting used to. It’s not South. [/QUOTE] Well, you do still have the gun racks and Confederate stickers on trucks. So it’s kiiinda South. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/48 "2007-09-28T02:00:13Z")
It’s in a surrey with the fringe on top. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/49 "2007-09-28T02:07:04Z")
States don’t fall neatly into regional categories all the time. Missouri, for example is both Southern and Midwestern because it straddles a border: The Ozark region is held in common with Arkansas and is culturally Southern, as Arkansas is, but north of that it is Midwestern all the way up to Iowa. Even the southern tip of Illinois is Southern along with Kentucky, but Illinois quickly becomes Midwestern up to Chicagoland and Wisconsin. [The Nine Nations of North America](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Nations_of_North_America) illustrates this concept, though I don’t think we’d all agree on the details of Garreau’s map. ---
**Author:** ![cookeze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@cookeze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cookeze)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/50 "2007-09-28T02:38:15Z")
[QUOTE=treis] There are a few states that don’t belong to any region. Oklahoma is one of them. Minnesota and Nevada are the other two that I can’t seem to place in any region. [/QUOTE] That’s right. Oklahoma is the Middle of Nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/51 "2007-09-28T02:43:40Z")
[QUOTE=treis] There are a few states that don’t belong to any region. Oklahoma is one of them. Minnesota and Nevada are the other two that I can’t seem to place in any region. [/QUOTE] Another one that straddles regional boundaries, to me at any rate, is Ohio. While it’s most definitely considered Midwest, parts of it certainly feel more Northeastern, while others distinctly more Southern. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/52 "2007-09-28T02:51:11Z")
[QUOTE=cookeze] That’s right. Oklahoma is the Middle of Nowhere. [/QUOTE] I thought that was Kansas. To paraphrase Sinbad (the comedian, not the hero of yore): > [@](#): > > Whatever you do, don’t let your car break down while you’re driving through Kansas. You’ll call your friend up and tell him your car’s broke down in Kansas and he needs to come get you. When your friend asks what you’re near, you’ll look around you and then yell into the phone, “I’m in Kansas!” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/53 "2007-09-28T02:54:16Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] I kinda guessed that. Just from poking around Wikipedia, these regional terms can get pretty nebulous. [/QUOTE] Yes. It is indeed nebulous. Personally, I only include New Mexico and Arizona in my personal definition of the Southwest, with perhaps some parts of California and Nevada. A Google search for “Southwestern States,” (quotes inclusive) yields a wide variety of definitions: First hit is the Wikipedia link. Second hit is: Arizona (AZ) California (CA) Colorado (CO) Nevada (NV) New Mexico (NM) Utah (UT) Third hit is: Arizona New Mexico Oklahoma Texas Fourth hit (an FAA map) is: California Nevada Arizona Fifth hit is the same states as the second. In other words, it’s all over the map (no pun intended). ---
**Author:** ![BlakeTyner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@BlakeTyner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlakeTyner)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/54 "2007-09-28T02:55:11Z")
FWIW, I consider Texas it’s own thing, too. Northeast Texas (home) is very much related to the south - antebellum homes, old cotton plantations, the whole smash. Houston and the Metroplex, to a country boy like me, are just ‘urban’ without having a lot of their own flair. I can’t pick someone out by their accent if they come from a big city, whereas if I open my mouth you can tell immediately that I’m an East Texan. Likewise, if I hear someone from West Texas speak, I can call it. Of course, there’s a lot of cajun/creole influence here, too. We kind of get the best of all worlds. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/55 "2007-09-28T03:18:43Z")
I’m from eastern Massachusetts. _Everything_ beyond Worcester, MA, or Providence, RI, is simply “out West.” ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/56 "2007-09-28T03:36:08Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Indian territory from an Arkansas viewpoint. Ft. Smith, Judge Parker and all that. 🙂 [/QUOTE] You Walmart lovin’ Razorback! Living in OKC for now. Lived in Los Angelas, San Fransisco, Houston, Denver, Atlanta, Milwalkee, and numerous other places “Okie” used to have a fairly negative air about it. Back when the Joads moved to California. So, some oldsters (or those reared by those oldsters) may take offense at it. But those guys are definitely a minority from what I’ve seen in my several years here in the OKC. A lot of people here refer to themselves as “Okies,” so I see no reason to view the word as offensive. YMMV, of course, esp if you’re talkin to a big ol redneck with a stick and a few beers. Oklahoma is varied in its feel, accent, culture, etc… Just like any other state in the union. (Imagine THAT!) Some Okies call themsleves Southern. And hey, those that do, indeed seem Southern. They act that way, think that way, talk that way. Some consider themselves to be Midwestern. And Lo and Behold! They act Midwestern. During the 90s and early 00s, the state called itself “The Heart of the Heartland.” No Sooner ever wants to be lumped in with Texas, geographically, or otherwise. BTW, not all of OK is flat, not everyone here is a redneck, and tornado warnings are a signal for all true Okies to go outside and look for the funnel. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/57 "2007-09-28T03:41:20Z")
I think we all tend to conceptualize “regions” differently. For this Westerner (grew up in Montana) the Western states always sort of “hung together” like this: Washington/Oregon, Idaho/Montana, Wyoming/Colorado, Arizona/New Mexico, California/a small bit of Western Nevado (Tahoe) & Las Vegas, the rest of Nevada (i.e., rural Nevada)/Utah. I see from Garreau’s map that most of those states are “The Empty Quarter”. :rolleyes: Three guesses where he’s not from. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/58 "2007-09-28T05:30:30Z")
Texans, from my experience, take a fairly dim view of Southerners while empathizing with them on some level. I’ve heard backwoods Texans rail about ignorant toothless racist Southerners between Mexican/Black/Asian jokes. I do think there is a little love between Louisiana and Texas, because so many East Texans have roots there, and there isn’t a significant sports rivalry between the states. We hate Arkansas and Oklahoma, I suspect, because we have longstanding rivalries with those states’ football teams. So intense, in fact, you could get your nutsack cut open if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time… Similarly, in my home region of West Texas, there’s an affinity for New Mexico, but it’s kept pretty hush-hush. ---
**Author:** ![papaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@papaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papaw)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/59 "2007-09-28T06:48:31Z")
I have heard Oklahoma referred to as “our untended backyard” by some high society Dallas folks. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735/60 "2007-09-28T12:42:52Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] we have longstanding rivalries with those states’ football teams. [/QUOTE] IANASP1 but I thought Arkansas left the SouthWest conference some time ago because all the other schools and the referees were Texan. 🙂 1 I Am Not A Sports Person. And NoClue, we go out to look for the funnel cloud, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-oklahoma/420735.md?page=4)