Portal:Oklahoma/Selected article/June, 2007



Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest in the United States. With an estimated population of 387,807 in 2003, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 897,752 residents expected to reach one million between 2010 and 2012. In 2006, the Tulsa-Bartlesville Combined Statistical Area had a population of 946,993 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Tulsa County, the most densely populated county in Oklahoma, with 563,299 residents as of the 2000 census.

Tulsa was first settled by the Creek Native American tribe after the forced removal of the five civilized tribes into Indian Territory and what would later become the state of Oklahoma. In 1921, the city was the site of an infamous race riot called the Tulsa Race Riot, one of the largest and most destructive acts of racial violence in the United States. For most of the 20th century, Tulsa was one of the largest and most important energy hubs in the United States, but declines in the oil industry and diversification efforts led to an increased importance to the sectors of aviation, telecommunications and technology. The Tulsa Port of Catoosa aids the regional economy as one of the nation's largest seaports and the most inland river port in the United States, while the city houses two institutions of higher education operating at the NCAA Division I level, the University of Tulsa and Oral Roberts University.

Located near Tornado Alley, Tulsa frequently experiences severe weather. It is situated on the prominent Arkansas River at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in northeast Oklahoma, a region of the state often known as "Green Country." Considered the cultural and arts center of Oklahoma, Tulsa boasts two world-renowned art museums, full-time professional opera and ballet companies, and one of the nation's largest concentrations of art deco architecture. In 2005, Tulsa was selected as one of "America's Most Livable Large Cities." People from Tulsa are described as "Tulsans."