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Northwestern Oklahoma is the geographical region of the state ofOklahoma which includes theOklahoma Panhandle and a majority of theCherokee Outlet, stretching to an eastern extent alongInterstate 35, and its southern extent along theCanadian River toNoble County. Northwest Oklahoma is also known by itsOklahoma Department of Tourism designation,Red Carpet Country,[1] which is named after the region's red soil and alludes to the metaphor that the panhandle is a "red carpet" into Oklahoma. The region consists ofCimarron,Texas,Beaver,Harper,Woods,Alfalfa,Grant,Kay,Ellis,Woodward,Major,Garfield,Noble,Dewey,Blaine, andKingfisher counties.
The area is anchored economically byEnid, which also contains the region's largest commercial airport. Other important cities includeGuymon,Ponca City,Woodward, andAlva.
Northwestern Oklahoma became part of theUnited States through theLouisiana Purchase and through the entrance ofTexas into the Union in 1845 as aslave state. At the time, federal law, based on theMissouri Compromise, prohibited slavery in the region that would become theOklahoma Panhandle. Under theCompromise of 1850, Texas surrendered its lands north of 36°30' latitude. The 170-mile strip of land, a "neutral strip", was left with no state or territorial ownership from 1850 until 1890. It was officially called the "Public Land Strip" and was commonly referred to as "No Man's Land."[2][3]
The Compromise of 1850 also established the eastern boundary ofNew Mexico Territory at the 103rd meridian, thus setting the western boundary of the strip. TheKansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 set the southern border ofKansas Territory as the 37thparallel. This became the northern boundary ofNo Man's Land.[3]
In 1889, theUnassigned Lands were opened for settlement. The passage of theOrganic Act in 1890 assignedNo Man's Land to the newOklahoma Territory.No Man's Land becameSeventh County under the newly organized Oklahoma Territory, land was soon renamedBeaver County.[3] Northwestern Oklahoma took its current form whenOklahoma Territory andIndian Territory joined the Union in 1907 as the singleU.S. state ofOklahoma.
Northwest Oklahoma ranges from dry and flat to an area with mountain ranges andmesas, a testament to the SouthwestTablelands ecoregion that dominates the area. Canyons and grasslands, such as theRita Blanca National Grassland, help to give Northwest Oklahoma a distinctiveSouthwest-like landscape, differing from other parts of the state.Black Mesa, the state's highest peak at 4,973 feet, is part of a large range of mesas in the panhandle which stretch into New Mexico. Another mesa range, theGlass (or Gloss) Mountains, sits in the center of Northwest Oklahoma, just south of theCimarron River alongHighway 412.Great Salt Plains Lake, one of the largest inland salt lakes in the United States, is located nearAlva.
