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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8 - Boise City
| | Boise City is the only town in the continental United States that has been bombed. An Air Force B-17 crew mistook the lights around the courthouse squ ... more |
| 13 - Cleo Springs | | Welcome to Cleo Springs! Come and enjoy our unique attractions and various shoppes. |
15 - Enid
| | This is historic Enid, Oklahoma - the hub of Northwest Oklahoma since its overnight development in the 1893 Land Run. It's the Bright Star of the Grea ... more |
21 - Guymon
| | Guymon maintains its image as "An American Original" throughout the year. As the largest, most centrally located city in the panhandle. Guymon is the ... more |
24 - Laverne
| | Located in the heart of Northwestern Oklahoma's agricultural and cattle industry, the oil boom of the 1950s gave Laverne the title of "Oil Capital of ... more |
36 - Woodward
| | Young or old, sports-minded or culturally inclined, from rural or urban America - Woodward offers something for everyone! Visitors are greeted by welc ... more |
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Traveling Red Carpet Country
