A vast prehistoric sea that covered what's now northwestern Oklahoma colored the soil a deep red-brown -- and left a few other surprised as well. Like the cedar-flecked canyons in Roman Nose State Park, carved by receding water, or the Alabaster Caverns, the world's largest gypsum-lined cave. Shifting sand dunes tower 40 feet high at Little Sahara State Park and the 4,973-foot-high, lava topped Black Mesa near Kenton was created by an ancient volcano. The mesa, the state's highest point, has long been a have for wildlife and for hikers -- some of them bigger than others, as nearby dinosaur footprints testify. The prairies were once dotted with tipis; northwest Oklahoma were the winter campgrounds for the Cheyenne-- the last great herd of buffalo on the Oklahoma plains was spotted near Fort Supply in the 1870s. Two decades later, the largest of all the land runs took place when the Cherokee Outlet was opened in1893 to settlement. In a single afternoon, 100,000 men and women raced to claim 160-acre quarter-sections; some of their great-grandchildren still live on original homesteads. In Aline, the Sod House Museum shelters the only remaining sod house in the state, built in 1849. |
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| 6 - Billings | | Welcome to Billings! Come and enjoy our unique attractions and various shoppes. |
| 22 - Kaw City | | Welcome to Kaw City! Come and enjoy our unique attractions and various shoppes. |
| 26 - Newkirk | | Welcome to Newkirk! Come and enjoy our unique attractions and various shoppes. |
28 - Perry
| | Perry was born into existence on September 16, 1893, during the historic Cherokee Strip Land Run. It is a community bonded with friendly people and ca ... more |
29 - Ponca City
| | Ponca City was founded on September 16, 1893 when the great land run opened the Cherokee Strip to white settlement. Named for one of five neighboring ... more |
32 - Tonkawa
| | It was a land of the Nez Perce and later the Tonkawa Indians. It was a land of wildcatters and saloons, tamed by the 1893 land-run settlers and farmer ... more |
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Traveling Red Carpet Country
