Tulsa

Tulsa, located in the state of Oklahoma, is situated right on the Arkansas River at the base of the Ozark Mountains. The Loachapoka Band of Creek Native Americans settled in the area between 1828 and 1836, though the town was not officially incorporated until 1898. The Tulsa Opera, Expo Square, Philbrook Museum of Art, and the Gilcrease Museum, as well as the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, are some of the major attractions that draw people to Oklahoma's second largest city. Tulsa was well-known as "the Oil Capital of the World" for a majority of the 20th Century, and although this lofty claim has since been usurped, throwbacks from this heritage can still be seen all over the city. The most iconic of these is downtown itself and its many bountifully embellished Art Deco high-rises. For outdoors enthusiasts, there are over 100 parks and 20 miles of paved recreational trails that trace the Arkansas River. Bell's Amusement Park and the Tulsa Garden Center are other popular attractions that make the most of the "Green Country." Often touted as the cultural hub of Oklahoma, the city also sustains its own professional opera and ballet companies. Regularly named one of the nation's most liveable cities, Tulsa is no more a charmless oil baron.