The term Cross Timbers known as Ecoregion 29, Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains, is used to describe a strip of land in the United States that runs from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas. Made up of a mix of prairie and woodland, it forms part of the boundary between the more forested eastern country and the treeless Great Plains, marks the western habitat limit of many mammals and insects. No major metropolitan areas lie wholly within the Cross Timbers, although the western half of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex does, including the cities of Fort Worth, Denton and Weatherford; the western suburbs of the Tulsa metropolitan area and the northeastern suburbs of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area lie within this area. The main highways that cross the region are I-35 and I-35W going north to south and I-40 going east to west. Numerous U. S. Highways cross the area; the Cross Timbers are defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as Ecoregion 29, a Level III ecoregion.

Some organizations and maps refer to the Cross Timbers ecoregion as the Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains. The Cross Timbers are contained within the WWF Central forest-grasslands transition ecoregion; the woodland and savanna portions of the Cross Timbers are post oak and blackjack oak on coarse, sandy soils. The short, stout oaks that grow in the Cross Timbers were not usable as timber and those that were not cleared for farmland constitute one of the least disturbed forest types in the eastern United States, with some 890,000 acres of old-growth forest scattered throughout the region; these old-growth forests contain millions of post oak from 200 to 400 years old and red cedar over 500 years old. The prairie portions are chiefly tallgrass on dry soils. Today, land use is a mixture of rangeland and farmland; the area has been an important site of oil extraction for over 80 years. Geologically speaking, the Cross Timbers are underlain by Pennsylvanian and Cretaceous-era sandstone and limestone, moderately dissected, giving the region a to moderately rolling topography, including some cuestas.

Although local relief is low, it is greater than that in the surrounding ecoregions, although this is not the case with the Flint Hills in Kansas. Ecologically, the EPA includes the Cross Timbers as part of the vast Great Plains, which comprise Level I Ecoregion 9.0, stretching from central Alberta in Canada to northern Mexico. More the Cross Timbers fall into Level II Ecoregion 9.4, the smaller South Central Semi-Arid Plains. In southern Oklahoma, the Cross Timbers are located on the edge of the Great Plains, as they border directly onto parts of Level I Ecoregion 8.0, the Eastern Temperate Forests. In turn, the Cross Timbers are themselves subdivided into nine Level IV Ecoregions: A wide belt of land stretching from south-central Oklahoma into southeastern Kansas, this is the only part of the Cross Timbers that extends into Kansas. In that state, it covers eastern Chautauqua and Elk counties and smaller portions of Greenwood, Woodson and Montgomery counties, while in Oklahoma, this region covers all of Seminole and Okfuskee counties, large parts of Osage, Creek, Cleveland, Hughes, McIntosh, Okmulgee counties, smaller parts of Logan, Murray, Tulsa and Washington counties.

The towns of Sand Springs, Sapulpa and Shawnee, Oklahoma fall within this large area. In Oklahoma, this belt of woodland covers all of Marshall County and parts of Love, Carter and Bryan counties, but in Texas, this region exists as a long narrow strip of dense forest stretching from the Red River to just north of Waco, Texas, it passes through northwestern Grayson County, eastern Cooke and Tarrant counties, central Johnson County, western Hill County, northern McClennan County. The city of Arlington, Texas lies within this zone, Denton and Cleburne are on its western edge. A much wider band than the Eastern Cross Timbers, the Western Cross Timbers band extends from far southern Oklahoma, including parts of Love and Carter counties, into central Texas, where it covers large parts of Montague, Jack, Stephens, Palo Pinto, Eastland, Brown, San Saba, Mills counties, as well as smaller parts of Clay, Callahan, Coleman, McCulloch counties. In Texas, this area includes the towns of Mineral Wells; the part of this region north of I-20 is sometimes colloquially referred to as the Palo Pinto Mountains.

Coal mining has been an important activity, as bituminous coal deposits are found throughout the region. In the mid-to-late 19th century, Comanche Indians occupied this area, it became a flash point for conflict between various groups of white settlers, the Comanche, the U. S. Cavalry. Numerous roads cross this region, includi

George Norton Galloway was a United States soldier who fought in the American Civil War as a member of the Union Army. His surname was spelled as "Gallaway" or "Galloway" on various military records of the period. Born in Philadelphia, Galloway was employed as a brushmaker during the early 1860s. Pennsylvania military records created in 1861 documented that he was 5' 9-1/2" tall with brown hair, dark eyes, a light complexion during his late teen years. Galloway enrolled for Civil War military service in Philadelphia on September 19, 1861. Mustering in there that same day as a private, he became part of Company G in the 95th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. Military records indicate that Galloway deserted his regiment on July 1, 1863 - the day before the 95th Pennsylvania fought in Gettysburg. Arrested on September 2, 1863, he was sent back to his unit, where he remained until he was transferred October 14, 1864, it was during this period of service that he demonstrated such bravery that he was awarded his nation's highest award for valor, the U.

S. Medal of Honor, he was honorably discharged from military service on November 18, 1864. He is interred at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Galloway was presented with his U. S. Medal of Honor on October 24, 1895. Awarded for his actions at Alsop's Farm in Virginia in May 1864, his citation read as follows: The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Private George Norton Galloway, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 8 May 1864, while serving with Company G, 95th Pennsylvania Infantry, in action at Alsops Farm, Virginia. Private Galloway voluntarily held an important position under heavy fire. List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: G–L George N. Galloway at Find a Grave

The Worcester class was a class of light cruisers used by the United States Navy, laid down in 1945 and commissioned in 1948–49. They and their contemporaries, the Des Moines-class heavy cruisers, were the last all-gun cruisers built for the U. S. Navy. Ten ships were planned for this class; the main battery layout was distinctive, with twin rather than triple turrets, unlike the previous Cleveland-class, St. Louis-class, Brooklyn-class light cruisers. Aside from the Worcesters main battery consisting of 6 in rather than 5 in guns, the layout was identical to the much smaller Juneau-class light cruisers, carrying 12 guns in six turrets, three forward and three aft, with only turrets 3 and 4 superfiring; the 6"/47 Mk 16 gun was an autoloading, high-angle dual purpose gun with a high rate of fire, the Worcesters were thus designed to serve as AA cruisers like the Juneaus but with much more potent guns, as well as conventional light cruisers. Both ships were decommissioned in 1958, the last conventional light cruisers to serve in the fleet, scrapped in the early 1970s.

Minotaur-class cruiser, a Royal Navy design similar in concept. Global Security.org - Worcester class cruiser Global Security.org - Worcester class cruiser specifications