South Central Oklahoma is an amorphousregion in the state ofOklahoma, perhaps encompassing 10 counties. It is centered on theArbuckle Mountains, an ancient, eroded range traversing some 70 miles (110 km) across the region, and surrounded by rivers and lakes, notablyLake Texoma,Lake Murray andLake of the Arbuckles. For tourism purposes, theOklahoma Department of Tourism has more narrowly defined South Central Oklahoma, which they refer to asChickasaw Country, as being a seven-county region includingPontotoc,Johnston,Marshall,Garvin,Murray,Carter, andLove counties.[1] A ten-county definition might also includeCoal,Atoka, andBryan counties, although the Department of Tourism includes those inChoctaw Country.[2] TheChoctaw Nation of Oklahoma covers the eastern third of the region. Its headquarters is inDurant, and its capitol building, now a museum, is inTuskahoma. TheChickasaw Nation lies within the region, with the tribal capitol building located atTishomingo and its headquarters inAda.The Chickasaw Nation, which runs"Chickasawcountry.com"., promotes the idea of Chickasaw Country as the 13 south-central Oklahoma counties that comprise the Chickasaw Nation, being the Tourism Department’s seven counties plusCoal,Bryan,Jefferson,Stephens,Grady, andMcClain counties.[3][4]
The region, also known by its former Oklahoma Department of Tourism designation,Arbuckle Country orLake and Trail Country, has three distinct centers of commerce and culture,Ardmore,Ada andDurant, though it retains a largely rural nature, and is populated with many small towns and ranches. It also contains a large portion of theCross Timbers region, transitioning from a heavily wooded area (with native oaks, elms and other eastern varieties) to a rolling savanna in the west, occasionally broken by cedar and mesquite trees. In addition to abundant water resources latent in the Arbuckle-SimpsonAquifer, the region has some of the highest oil and gas production in the state, withCarter County seated as the largest producer in the state.[5]
TheArbuckle Mountains are the defining geographical entity in this region, with peaks (once taller than theRockies) eroded down to their current elevation of 200-300' above the surrounding terrain. Many lakes are also located throughout the region, often shaped by the irregular topography of the underlying Arbuckle range. Larger manmade lakes includeLake Texoma, with over 89,000 acres (360 km2), andLake Murray, a 5,700-acre (23 km2) lake impounded about 10 miles (20 km) south of Ardmore.
Fishing, boating and swimming are popular throughout the region, especially onLake Texoma, the second most popular lake in terms of annual visitors in the United States, as determined by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Other draws in the region include Oklahoma's tallest waterfall,Turner Falls, as well as the restored historic downtowns ofArdmore,Durant andAda. The region's proximity to theDallas/Fort Worth Metroplex makes it a popular weekend destination for those searching for a respite from the increasingly congestedNorth Texas region. The area is home to several popularOklahoma casinos.
Per the 2000 census, the region had 209,569[6] people. Nearly one-quarter of these residents (45,621) live inCarter County, of which Ardmore is the county seat.
The growth of the southern portion of the region rivals that of both the Oklahoma City and the Tulsa metropolitan regions, with Bryan and Marshall counties (areas surrounding Lake Texoma) adding greater numbers of residents due to the explosive northward growth in theDallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
