South Central United States

The South Central United States or South Central states is a region in the south central portion of the Southern United States. It evolved out of the Old Southwest, which originally was literally the western U.S. South, as can be seen in the now defunct Southwest Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas (which make up what the Census Bureau Division calls West South Central States) are almost always considered the "core" of the region. As part of the East South Central States sub-group of the Census Bureau classification, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky are also frequently listed under the heading. At the highest extent, Kansas, and Missouri, may be included by some sources. All or parts these states are in the Central Time Zone. At different times, all of the above states were/are considered part of the Western United States in American history.

Regional definitions vary from source to source. The states shown in dark red are usually included, while all or portions of the striped states may or may not be considered part of the South Central United States.

Geography

The climate varies from the semi-tropical in the Mississippi Delta, South Louisiana, and Southeast Texas, to the dry Chihuahuan desert in West Texas. The southeastern portions include the Appalachian mountains in Alabama and Tennessee and the Piney Woods of East Texas, Louisiana, and southern Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta. A large portion of the northeastern quarter of the region is mountainous, with the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. The northwest quarter of the region is dominated by the Great Plains which become progressively drier west of 100° W, forming the North American Llano Estacado. The southwestern portions border the Rio Grande, and are generally drier than other areas of the South Central United States.

Texas is the largest South Central state by both area and population. Texas is still home to over half the region's population. The largest city in the region, Houston, is located in Texas. New Orleans was tied with Oklahoma City in population but, after Hurricane Katrina, the population of the New Orleans metro area declined to approximately 1 million.[1] By 2017, the population of New Orleans had bounced back to almost 1.3 million.[2]

These four states come together in a region known as the Ark-La-Tex region.

Two megaregions exist within this region:

States in the South Central Region
State2010 Pop.Land AreaDensity
Arkansas2,915,918 (4th)52,068 (3rd)51.34 (3rd)
Louisiana4,533,372 (2nd)43,562 (4th)102.59 (1st)
Oklahoma3,751,351 (3rd)68,667 (2nd)50.25 (4th)
Texas25,145,561 (1st)261,797 (1st)79.65 (2nd)

Major cities
City City Population Metro Population U.S. Rank
 Texas

Houston		 2,325,502 6,997,384 4

San Antonio		 1,532,233 2,518,036 7

Dallas		 1,345,047 7,233,323 9

Austin		 964,254 2,168,316 11

Fort Worth		 895,008 7,233,323 13

El Paso[lower-alpha 1]		 682,669 845,553 22
 Louisiana

New Orleans		 391,006 1,262,888 50

Baton Rouge		 221,599 830,480 99
 Oklahoma

Oklahoma City		 649,021 1,396,445 27

Tulsa		 403,035 991,561 47
 Arkansas

Little Rock		 197,881 738,344 121

[3][4][5][6][7][8]

  1. El Paso is often considered a part of the Southwest Region. In fact, El Paso is the only city on this list that is in Mountain Time Zone instead of the Central Time Zone. El Paso is closer to the Arizona state capital (Phoenix) than it is to the Texas state capital (Austin). El Paso is also closer to the California state line than it is to the Louisiana state line.

[9][10][11][12]

Transportation

Major Commercial Airports[13][14][15][16][17]

Major Interstate Highways[18][19][20][21]

History

The history of the South Central states is dominated by the conflict and interaction between three cultural-linguistic groups: the Anglosphere (first Great Britain and then the United States), the Hispanidad (first Spain then Mexico), and the Francophonie (always France). In the 17th and 18th centuries Spain and France maneuvered for control of Texas, with the Spanish based in Mexico and New Mexico and the French in Louisiana. During the War of the Quadruple Alliance hostilities spread to the New World and the French troops from Natchitoches briefly captured the capital of Spanish Texas, Los Adaes in what is now western Louisiana. The French were not able to wrest control of Texas from Spain, and by the early 19th century sold their North American holdings to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase, which comprised slightly less than half of what is today the South Central United States.

The official West and East South Central states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee were members of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Kentucky was often considered a "non-official" Confederate state. Oklahoma, although Indian Territory at the time, was home to 5 Native-American tribes, of which a majority allied themselves with the Confederacy. Thus, all these states are usually considered to make up a large part of the American South both historically and culturally, as well as classified by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sports
Major Professional Teams
Team Sport League Venue Titles

Dallas Cowboys		 Football NFL AT&T Stadium 5

Dallas Mavericks		 Basketball NBA American Airlines Center 1

Dallas Stars		 Hockey NHL American Airlines Center 1

FC Dallas		 Soccer MLS Toyota Stadium 0

Houston Astros		 Baseball MLB Minute Maid Park 1

Houston Dynamo		 Soccer MLS BBVA Stadium 2

Houston Rockets		 Basketball NBA Toyota Center 2

Houston Texans		 Football NFL NRG Stadium 0

New Orleans Pelicans		 Basketball NBA Smoothie King Center 0

New Orleans Saints		 Football NFL Mercedes-Benz Superdome 1

Oklahoma City Thunder		 Basketball NBA Chesapeake Energy Arena 1[lower-alpha 1]

San Antonio Spurs		 Basketball NBA AT&T Center 5

Texas Rangers		 Baseball MLB Globe Life Field 0

[22][23][24]

  1. The Oklahoma City Thunder won their NBA title in 1979 before their relocation to Oklahoma City when the team was known as the Seattle SuperSonics.
Major College Teams
School Mascot Conference

University of Arkansas		 Razorbacks SEC

Baylor University		 Bears Big 12

Louisiana State University		 Tigers SEC

University of Oklahoma		 Sooners Big 12

Oklahoma State University		 Cowboys Big 12

University of Texas		 Longhorns Big 12

Texas A&M University		 Aggies SEC

Texas Christian University		 Horned Frogs Big 12

Texas Tech University		 Red Raiders Big 12

[25][26][27][28]

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gollark: We mostly just say "isomorphic to bee".
gollark: Because we fixed those, mostly.

References
  1. Zimmermann, Kim Ann; August 27, Live Science Contributor |; ET, 2015 12:47pm. "Hurricane Katrina: Facts, Damage & Aftermath". Live Science. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  2. "New Orleans metro area population 2010-2017 | Statistic". Statista. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  3. "Texas Demographic Center". demographics.texas.gov. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  4. "Demographics and Geography - The official website of Louisiana". www.louisiana.gov. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  5. "Oklahoma Cities by Population". www.oklahoma-demographics.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  6. "Arkansas Cities by Population". www.arkansas-demographics.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  7. "Louisiana Cities by Population". www.louisiana-demographics.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  8. "Texas Cities by Population". www.texas-demographics.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  9. "Distance from El Paso, TX to Phoenix, AZ". check-distance.com. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  10. "Distance from El Paso, TX to Austin, TX". check-distance.com. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  11. "Distance from El Paso, TX to Los Angeles, CA". check-distance.com. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  12. "Distance from El Paso, TX to Orange, TX". check-distance.com. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  13. "Aviation and Airports". www.dot.state.tx.us. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  14. "Aviation and Aerospace". www.greateroklahomacity.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  15. "Official Home - Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport". Louis Armstrong New Orleans Airport. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  16. "Clinton National Airport". Clinton National Airport. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  17. "Tulsa International Airport | Tulsa Airports". Tulsa Airport. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  18. "Texas Department of Transportation". www.txdot.gov. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  19. "LaDOTD". wwwsp.dotd.la.gov. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  20. "Arkansas Department of Transportation - ArDOT". www.arkansashighways.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  21. "Oklahoma Department of Transportation - Oklahoma Department of Transportation". www.ok.gov. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  22. "Texas Sports Teams". www.texasoutside.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  23. "Louisiana Sports Teams". Wright Realtors.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  24. "Oklahoma City Sports | Professional & Collegiate Sports". www.visitokc.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  25. "Sports in Louisiana". Louisiana Travel. December 4, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  26. "Texas Sports Teams". Wright Realtors.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  27. "Arkansas Sports Teams". Wright Realtors.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  28. "Oklahoma Sports Teams". Wright Realtors.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
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