Riddle of America, The - Waldorf Research Institute

time the white man arrived here. A band of scrub oak (largely blackjack andpost oak), from five to thirty miles wide, stretched completely acrossOklahoma from north to south, hindering passage to the west. This regioncame to be known as the “crosstimbers” because of the dense nature of thisgrowth. A government map 9 of 1834 called it the “western boundary ofhabitable land.”Oklahoma is, also, a transition zone between the short growingseason of the North, and the long‐season South. Bluegrass can be grown inOklahoma City but not much farther south. On the other hand, live oaks canbe found just south of Oklahoma City, in Norman, but no farther north. Thisapproximate dividing line can be identified on a map along highway #140.Above all, Oklahoma’s climate is characterized by abundant sunshine—itis a part of the Sunbelt. Oklahomans expect to have sunshineevery day. More than three days in a row of overcast weather is rare. Thewind, however, is not—the days without wind are few.In summary, the world creative powers laid down an abundance ofmaterials in Oklahoma that could be of great benefit to mankind, or of greatharm. From the gypsum emerged beautiful alabaster and an endless supplyof selenite crystals—even a region called the “Glass Mountains.” Fromsandstone grew a multitude of rose rocks. A line of diverse mountain formationsarose along and near the Red River. Four Rocky Mountain headwatersbirth rivers that flow through Oklahoma, from Black Mesa on the westernhigh plains to the swampy lowlands of the eastern coastal plains. Addingto this water supply are other important rivers and copious springs. Thisstructure is blessed by a climate that is generally warm and sunny, but canquickly turn unpredictable, violent and extreme.As these conditions evolved over time, the teeming life of the tropicalseas and swamps was replaced by the dinosaurs. They, in turn, had to yieldto the large mammals of the Ice Age until, finally, the grasslands emergedto support the buffalo herds by the millions in historical times.What then is the human significance of this geographical settingcharacterized by vitality, bounty, diversity, and transition? With these conditions,all was in readiness for the arrival of post‐Atlantean man. We knowthat in the milder climates to the south, the people established cultures ofgreat power, but their mystery knowledge became decadent. In the northernclimate of the United States, although the cultural achievements were notas marvelous, the people maintained a high degree of spirituality, in connectionwith Mother Earth.71