Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma. It is located on the Arkansas River at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in northeast Oklahoma, a region of the state known as "Green Country." The city is situated in Tornado Alley and frequently experiences severe weather.

Considered the cultural and arts center of Oklahoma, Tulsa is home of two world-renowned art museums, full-time professional opera and ballet companies, and one of the nation's largest concentrations of art deco architecture.

History

What was ultimately to become Tulsa was originally part of Indian Territory and was first settled by the Lochapoka and Creek tribes in 1836. They set up a home under a large oak tree at the present day intersection of Cheyenne Avenue and 18th Street, and named their new settlement "Tallasi", meaning "old town" in the Creek language, which later became "Tulsa". On January 18, 1898, Tulsa was officially incorporated and elected its first mayor, Edward Calkins.

Tulsa was known as the "Oil Capital of the World" for most of the 20th century, the city's success in the energy industry prompted construction booms in the popular Art Deco style of the time. Profits from the oil industry continued through the Great Depression, helping the city's economy fare better than most in the United States during the 1930s.

Though the oil industry has historically commanded Tulsa's economy, efforts in economic diversification have created a base in the sectors of aerospace, finance, technology, telecommunications, high tech, and manufacturing.