Quiz challenge
One state touches Colorado, Kansas, and Texas by land. Which one?
Select an answer to continue.
The correct answer is A) Oklahoma.
Oklahoma is the correct answer. It is the only U.S. state that shares a direct land border with Colorado, Kansas, and Texas simultaneously.
Understanding state borders across the American interior requires a close look at how regional territories and historic boundaries were mapped. The central United States features several complex geographical intersections, particularly where the Great Plains meet the Southwest and the Rocky Mountains. One particular state occupies a strategic position that bridges these distinct geographic regions. It shares borders with six different states in total, including direct land boundaries with Colorado to the northwest, Kansas to the north, and Texas to the south and west. Identifying this state depends heavily on recognizing how distinct territorial strips and historic surveying decisions helped create the modern boundary map of the United States.
The correct answer
A) Oklahoma
Oklahoma is the correct answer. It is the only U.S. state that shares a direct land border with Colorado, Kansas, and Texas simultaneously.
Oklahoma shares borders with six neighboring states, creating a unique geography that connects the American South, the Great Plains, and the Southwest. To its north sit Colorado and Kansas. Colorado borders the westernmost edge of the Oklahoma Panhandle, while Kansas stretches across the majority of Oklahoma's northern line. Directly to the south and wrapping around to the west is Texas, which shares a long border defined in part by the Red River. Because the narrow Oklahoma Panhandle extends all the way to the 103rd meridian west, Oklahoma connects directly to Colorado at its northwestern corner while maintaining its extensive borders with Kansas and Texas.
More context
The reason Oklahoma touches so many distinct states lies in the fascinating history of the Oklahoma Panhandle. During the nineteenth century, when Texas was admitted to the Union as a slave state under the Compromise of 1850, federal law prohibited slavery north of latitude 36 degrees 30 minutes north. To comply with this regulation, Texas surrendered its claim to the strip of land lying north of that parallel. This created an unattached strip of land roughly 166 miles long and 34 miles wide that was not assigned to any state or territory for decades, earning it the nickname No Mans Land. In 1890, Congress officially attached this strip to the Oklahoma Territory, forming Cimarron, Texas, and Beaver counties. Today, Cimarron County holds a unique distinction in American geography as the only county in the entire United States that touches five different states: Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas. This historic boundary adjustment permanently shaped the border map of the American interior.
Quick facts
- Cimarron County in the Oklahoma Panhandle is the only county in the United States that touches five different states.
- Black Mesa, located in far western Cimarron County, is the highest point in Oklahoma at 4,973 feet above sea level.
- The Oklahoma Panhandle was created when Texas gave up territorial claims north of latitude 36 degrees 30 minutes to enter the Union as a slave state.
- Before being annexed to Oklahoma Territory in 1890, the panhandle region was officially an unassigned federal area nicknamed No Man's Land.
Sources
- Oklahoma QuickFacts — U.S. Census Bureau Oklahoma is a U.S. state in the South Central region bordering Texas, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Missouri, and Arkansas.
- New Maps for Texas and Oklahoma Released — U.S. Geological Survey Topographic and cartographic surveys verify the boundary line connections between Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Colorado.
