Green Country
From Oklahoma
Located in Northeast Oklahoma, Green Country is a heavily-wooded area of the state with a relatively high amount of rolling hills, mountains and foliage as opposed to Central and Western Oklahoma (which have geography similar to "the Great Plains" region of the U.S.). Average rainfall totals in Green Country are generally above 40 inches per year, making it considerably wetter and greener than most of the state.
Its name was devised in the 1960s by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation as one of six travel destination regions within the state, but is the most historically significant of all of them, as the name's usage can be traced to the early part of the 20th century.
The official borders of "Green Country," according to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, include all of northeastern Oklahoma, reaching in the northwest to include Osage County, Okfuskee County in the southwest, the Canadian River in the south, and the Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas borders in the north, northeast, and east.
The region is anchored by the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, which includes the cities of Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Owasso, and Bixby, among others. Muskogee, Bartlesville and Tahlequah are other major cities.
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[edit] Alternate Meanings
The term "Green Country" may be used to describe all of eastern Oklahoma, although southeastern Oklahoma has its own regional designation, Kiamichi country. Tulsa, the principal city in northeastern Oklahoma, is sometimes referred to as "Green Country" in its own right (or "the heart of Green Country").
[edit] Geographic Importance
Northeastern Oklahoma has the most diversified agricultural economy in the state, as well as the state's second largest city, Tulsa. In addition to the area's abundance of foliage and rolling hills, it has more lakes than any other geographical area of Oklahoma, as well as more than half of the state's registered state parks. Six of Oklahoma's 11 ecosystems are in northeastern Oklahoma. <ref>[1] [Oklahoma Department of Tourism]</ref> (The state is one of only 4 with more than 10, according to the EPA)<ref>[2] [Oklahoma Department of Tourism]</ref>
The heavily-wooded Ozark Mountains and their foothills dominate most of the area, containing mixed forests of evergreen pines and deciduous trees.
Prairie terrain is most apparent in a strip of Green Country's northern section, running roughly from Bartlesville to Miami, where the landscape can most accurately be described as a mix of true prairie and forest.
The Arkansas River is the area's largest river, and hosts the state's only sea ports, the Tulsa Port of Catoosa (via an extensive navigation system involving the Verdigris River) and the Port of Muskogee. From either of these two ports, goods may be transported (via the Arkansas River's connection to the Mississippi River) to the sea port in New Orleans, Louisiana, and then to points beyond.
[edit] Sportsman's Paradise
Green Country is known as an outdoor sportsmen's paradise, with its many lakes, streams and rivers, and abundant wilderness used for hunting and fishing, along with its sheer number of state parks and camping areas.
[edit] Infrastructure
The area's highway system is dominated by turnpikes.
Interstate 44 in the primary thoroughfare, and runs diagonally through Green Country, exiting on the southwest and northeast corners. All portions of the road through northeastern Oklahoma exists as a toll road, except for in the city of Tulsa. Interstate 40 straddles the southernmost border of Green Country, while other important highways include the north-south Highway 75 (not a turnpike), The Muskogee Turnpike, the north-south Highway 69, Highway 169, and the east-west Highway 412.
In addition, Historic Route 66 is an active road the entire way (with breaks) between the Kansas border and Stroud, the southwestern most town in the region.
The Tulsa International Airport is the primary commercial flight operation in Green Country, and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa and Port of Muskogee are Oklahoma's only seaports, connecting the state directly with international trade routes.
[edit] Important cities and towns in Green Country
- Tulsa
- Broken Arrow
- Bartlesville
- Jenks
- Bixby
- Claremore
- Okmulgee
- Muskogee
- Miami
- Tahlequah
- Vinita
- Grove
- Sapulpa
- Sand Springs
- Nowata
Other Oklahoma regions include Red Carpet Country, Great Plains Country, Kiamichi Country, Frontier Country, and Fun Country (known in later years as Lake Country and today as Lake & Trail Country).
