The Osage Hills is a hilly area in Oklahoma, commonly known as ''The Osage''. The name refers to the broad rolling hills and rolling

tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachm ...

and Cross Timbers encompassing Osage County and surrounding areas, including portions of Mayes, Tulsa, Washington and Kay Counties. The Osage is the southern extension of the

Flint Hills The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a region in eastern Kansas and north-central Oklahoma named for the abundant residual flint eroded from the bedrock that lies near or at the surface. It consists of ...

of Kansas.

The Osage

The Osage contains some of the largest remaining remnants of the tallgrass prairie that covered much of the Great Plains (see Tallgrass Prairie Preserve). Kansans generally refer to the northern portion of this same prairie system as the Flint Hills. Historically, most of this area was the last reserve of the Osage Indians and its rugged environs hid outlaws and illicit activity well into the twentieth century. The Nellie Johnstone No. 1, a well drilled near present-day Bartlesville, struck oil on April 15, 1897, and became the first of thousands of commercial oil wells in Oklahoma. The Osage Indians had wisely held on to their mineral rights following the dissolution of the reservation system,Kappler, ''Indian Affairs''; ''"An act for the division of the lands and funds of the Osage Indians etc."'': "That the oil, gas, coal, or other minerals covered by the lands for the selection and division of which provision is herein made are hereby reserved to the Osage tribe for a period of twenty-five years from and after the eighth day of April, nineteen hundred and six; ..." and the royalties from the oil underneath the hills made them one of the richest tribes in the nation. Prominent attractions in the Osage Hills include: the Osage Hills State Park; Tulsa's

Gilcrease Museum Gilcrease Museum, also known as the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, is a museum northwest of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma housing the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art of the American West, as well as a gro ...

(which has extensive gardens covering , Woolaroc and

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve which offers long vistas of tallgrass prairies and buffalo herds; and

Kaw Lake Kaw Lake is a reservoir completed in 1976 in the northern reaches of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, near Kaw City which is located on a hill overlooking the lake. The lake is approximately east of Ponca City. The dam was completed by the United St ...

and the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

in Kay Country which form the western boundary of the Osage. Several enterprises or organizations in the area use ''Osage Hills'' to identify themselves with the area; including Osage Hills Public Schools in Bartlesville and Osage Hills State Park west of Bartlesville. Other areas within Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri also may use the name "Osage Hills" although may not actually be within the specific Osage Hills area.

Footnotes

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Bibliography

*Kappler, Charles (Ed.)
"PART III.—ACTS OF FIFTY–NINTH CONGRESS—FIRST SESSION, 1906
(Chapter 3572, June 28, 1906 [H.R. 15333] - [Public, No. 321] 34 Stat., 539. "An act for the division of the lands and funds of the Osage Indians etc." ''Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties''. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1913. 3:252-258 (accessed September 25, 2006).

External links

Osage Hills State Park website
Hills of Oklahoma Landforms of Mayes County, Oklahoma Landforms of Osage County, Oklahoma Landforms of Rogers County, Oklahoma Landforms of Washington County, Oklahoma Geography of Oklahoma

The Osage

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See also

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