Nescatunga is an unincorporated
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
(CDP) in
Alfalfa County,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, United States adjacent to
Great Salt Plains State Park
Great Salt Plains State Park is a Oklahoma state park located in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma. It is located north of Jet, Oklahoma on SH-38 and east of Cherokee. . The population was 70 as of the
2010 census.
History
Sans Orielle, an
Osage Indian, along with other members of his tribe guided Indian Agent Major
George C. Sibley and his party from
Fort Osage
Fort Osage (also known as Fort Clark or Fort Sibley) was an early 19th-century factory trading post run by the United States Government in western Missouri on the American frontier; it was located in present-day Sibley, Missouri. The Treaty of ...
, Missouri, to the Great Salt Plains area of present-day Alfalfa county in 1811. The Sibley party members are believed to have been the first white men to set sight on the salt plains, which Sibley called the Grand Saline. The
Salt Fork of the Arkansas River, flowing through the plains, was known by the Osages as ''Nescatunga'' - meaning 'big salt water'.
Nescatunga is adjacent to the
Great Salt Plains Reservoir located on the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River. The creation of the dam and reservoir was a
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
’ project in the late 1930s and early 1940s. It was completed in July, 1941 at a cost of $4.6 million.
Geography
Nescatunga is located in eastern Alfalfa County. It is near the outlet of the Great Salt Plains Lake on the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River and is adjacent to Great Salt Plains State Park.
Oklahoma State Highway 38
State Highway 38 (abbreviated SH-38) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It runs for in an irregular south-to-north pattern in eastern Alfalfa County, in the northwest part of the state. The highway begins at U.S. Route 64 (US-64) ...
runs through the center of the community, leading south to
Jet, the nearest incorporated town.
Nescatunga's
Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
CDP has a total area of , all of it land.
Demographics
See also
Great Salt Plains State Park and National Wildlife RefugeGreat Salt Plains
References
Census-designated places in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma
Census-designated places in Oklahoma
{{Oklahoma-geo-stub