Polk County sits on Arkansas’s western edge inside the Ouachita Mountains, and the maps show a county built around valleys rather than broad plains. Download Map Files: get all four high-resolution JPG maps together in one ZIP. Mena is the main center in the north-central interior, while Hatfield, Cove, Wickes, and Grannis form a long chain of communities to the south along the Route 71 corridor. The Ouachita River crosses the northern and eastern mountain country, and other major streams occupy separate valleys across the county. The supplied elevation map ranges from about 138 to 616 meters, with a mean near 361 meters.
Mena is the county seat and the easiest place to begin reading Polk County. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas identifies Mena as the county seat and describes Polk County as entirely within the Ouachita Mountains. The general map matches that setting closely. Roads radiate from Mena, high ridges rise just north and east of town, and smaller communities occupy narrow corridors rather than spreading evenly across the county. Looking south from Mena toward Grannis and east toward Board Camp reveals two very different parts of the same mountain landscape.
Table of Contents
Route 71 ties Mena to a long chain of southern mountain communities
Mena is the strongest road anchor on the general map. Routes 88 and 270 head toward the northwestern boundary, while Route 63 reaches the western side and Route 710 crosses the hills southwest of town. Route 71 then becomes the clearest north-south reference. It leads from Mena through Hatfield and Cove toward Wickes and Grannis, giving the county a settlement pattern that is unusually easy to follow despite the rugged terrain.
The southern route continues through a narrowing section of the county. Route 59 appears near the Hatfield-Cove side, and Routes 84, 4, and 278 meet around Wickes. Grannis lies farther south near the same major corridor. The county boundary steps inward dramatically east of Wickes, so the road and boundary together help explain why the southern communities appear compressed into a narrow strip compared with the broad northern half.
East of Mena, the road network becomes more clearly shaped by mountain relief. Route 370 reaches the Board Camp side, Route 8 continues toward the eastern boundary, and Route 375 crosses the south-central highlands before Route 246 appears farther east. These roads bend around long ridges and stream valleys rather than following a regular grid. Acorn, north of Mena, is also separated from the county seat by high ground and numerous small tributaries even though the straight map distance looks modest.
The ranked city map shows one Mena center and a southbound settlement corridor
The city map ranks six major communities. Mena is number 1, Wickes 2, Grannis 3, Hatfield 4, Cove 5, and Vandervoort 6. These numbers are ranking markers rather than distance measurements. Mena stands apart as the north-central center, while Hatfield, Cove, Vandervoort, Wickes, and Grannis occupy progressively more southern positions. The result is a long settlement corridor rather than a compact cluster of towns.
The terrain helps explain the arrangement. Mena occupies a relatively broad valley where several roads can meet, while many southern communities lie in narrower low corridors between mountain ridges. Wickes and Grannis sit near lower terrain along the Route 71 side, and the western and eastern highlands contain fewer major settlement labels. The city map therefore becomes more informative when paired with the elevation map, because the communities line up closely with the easier valley routes through the mountains.
The city legend also includes numeric values beside the community names, but this article does not reinterpret those figures as current population estimates. The supplied map clearly supports the ranking and geographic positions of the six communities, so those are the facts used here. Current population totals should be checked against recent Census data.
Ouachita River and Cossatot River occupy separate valleys between long ridges
The Ouachita River is the most prominent water feature in the northern and eastern half of the terrain and water map. It enters the mountain interior and makes several large bends before continuing toward the eastern edge. Short tributaries descend from high ridges on both sides, producing a dense branch pattern around the Mena and Board Camp sides. The river valley is broad enough to stand out even before the elevation colors are considered.
Northwest of Mena, the Mountain Fork Little River follows a separate mountain corridor, with Mill Creek and smaller streams entering from nearby ridges. Mena Lake, Ward Lake, and Coxs Lake provide small water landmarks around the county-seat area, while Iron Fork Lake appears farther northeast. These lakes are modest compared with the major rivers, but they are useful for orienting the dense local drainage around Mena.
The central-southern county is organized around the Cossatot River, which bends through a long valley between ridges. Buffalo Creek lies farther west, and Rolling Fork Creek extends through the southwestern section. Near the eastern and southeastern boundary, the Little Missouri River and Saline River occupy different corridors, with Shady Lake labeled near the Saline side. Polk County is therefore not drained by one simple river system; several substantial waterways divide the mountain blocks into distinct valleys.
This terrain and water map is intended for general geographic reference. It does not show current river stage, flood risk, fishing rules, trail conditions, property boundaries, or live road access. Mountain streams can change quickly after heavy rain, so current USGS and managing-agency information should be used for river, road, or outdoor-safety decisions.
Elevation spans 138 to 616 meters across a dense ridge-and-valley landscape
The supplied elevation map shows an actual countywide range of about 138 to 616 meters, with a mean near 361 meters. That is roughly 478 meters of relief. The highest dark-brown terrain forms long ridges along the northern boundary and across the northwest, with additional high bands in the east. Lower green terrain spreads through the Mena area and several central and southwestern valleys where roads and communities have more room to develop.
The north has the sharpest changes. Long parallel ridges sit close together, with the Ouachita River and Mountain Fork Little River systems using the lower corridors between them. Mena lies south of some of this high terrain in a wider valley, which helps explain why the county seat became the strongest road center. Moving toward Acorn quickly brings the map back into steeper relief and tighter drainage.
The eastern half also contains repeated ridge bands, especially around the Board Camp and Route 8 side. The Cossatot and Little Missouri river corridors break those ridges with lower green valleys. South and southwest toward Wickes and Grannis, the average terrain becomes lower, although smaller hills and drainage lines remain common. The map is most useful for following how ridges and valleys repeat across the county rather than searching for one isolated summit. Exact road, parcel, or building elevations require original USGS data or survey-grade measurement.
Compare the Grannis corridor with Board Camp to see two sides of Polk County
A practical way to use all four maps is to begin at Mena and compare south with east. Going south follows the clear Route 71 chain through Hatfield, Cove, Wickes, and Grannis. The elevation map gradually becomes less dominated by the highest northern ridges, and the water map shows lower creek valleys such as Buffalo Creek and Rolling Fork Creek. This direction combines the county’s strongest settlement line with one of its easier mountain passages.
Looking east toward Board Camp gives a different picture. Routes 370 and 8 cross repeated ridges, while tributaries of the Ouachita and Cossatot systems occupy deep valleys between them. Fewer major community labels appear in this terrain. The contrast between a populated southbound corridor and a more rugged eastern mountain network shows why Polk County is best understood as a set of connected valleys within the Ouachita Mountains rather than as one uniform highland.
The WebP images in the article are optimized for quick page viewing, while the download ZIP contains the same four maps as high-resolution JPG files. Each JPG measures 2572 × 3638 pixels in portrait orientation. Use the general and city maps for Mena, Hatfield, Wickes, and major roads; compare the terrain and elevation maps when tracing the Ouachita River, Cossatot River, Little Missouri River, and the county’s 138–616 meter relief.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the county seat of Polk County?
Mena is the county seat. It is also the strongest road and settlement reference on the supplied map, making it useful for locating Hatfield, Cove, Wickes, Grannis, Board Camp, and the major northern river valleys.
Do the numbers 1 through 6 on the city map show distance?
No. They are ranking markers used on the supplied city map. Mena is ranked first, followed by Wickes, Grannis, Hatfield, Cove, and Vandervoort. Actual driving distance and travel time can vary substantially on winding mountain roads and should be checked with a current navigation map.
Where is the highest terrain in Polk County?
The supplied elevation map shows the broadest high terrain along the northern and northwestern boundary, with additional high ridges in the east. The actual countywide range is about 138–616 meters with a mean near 361 meters. Mena and several southern river valleys occupy lower terrain between the ridges.
Map File Information
The ZIP contains the general county map, ranked city map, terrain and water map, and elevation map as high-resolution JPG files for printing or offline reference.
- File Type: ZIP containing 4 JPG files
Related Maps
Sources and references
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas – Polk County – Mena county seat and Polk County background
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas – Mena – Mena county-seat and Ouachita Mountains context
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles – county boundary and road data
- USGS National Hydrography – rivers, streams, lakes, and hydrography data
- USGS 3D Elevation Program – elevation and terrain data
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data.
These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
