This Travis County Map set uses Austin as the central urban reference, then separates the flatter east and northeast from the lake-and-hill country to the west. Download the high-resolution A3 JPG map ZIP from the box below when you need printable or editable files; it contains separate county-reference, ranked-city, terrain-and-water, and elevation maps. Together they show Pflugerville and Manor east of Austin, Lakeway and Bee Cave near the western lakes, the Colorado River corridor, and the county’s sharp west-to-east relief change.
Travis County is shaped by both a large metropolitan center and a pronounced terrain transition. The existing article identifies Interstate 35 as Austin’s north-south route and U.S. 290 as an important east-west connection. To the west, Lake Travis and Lake Austin occupy deep winding valleys cut into high terrain. East of Austin, the land opens into broader lower surfaces around Manor and the Colorado River. The county’s elevation map makes that contrast especially clear, with the highest terrain in the northwest and much lower ground extending across the east and southeast.
Table of Contents
Austin separates the western lake towns from the eastern growth corridor
Austin is the easiest place to begin on the county reference map. Pflugerville lies to the northeast and Manor to the east, giving the eastern side two clear settlement references. West of Austin, West Lake Hills appears before Bee Cave and Lakeway, while Lago Vista, Jonestown, and Volente are grouped much farther northwest around Lake Travis. That arrangement immediately shows why the county cannot be understood as a simple ring of suburbs around one city.
The road network reinforces the same difference. The existing page identifies I-35 and U.S. 290 as major Austin corridors, while the supplied reference map visibly labels route 71 on the west, 130 and 95 on the east, and 45 near the southern edge. Western routes bend through irregular lake and hill terrain. East and southeast of Austin, the road pattern spreads across a broader, gentler surface with fewer large terrain barriers.
Several facility labels help with detailed orientation around the urban core, including Applied Research Laboratories, Ascension Seton Medical Center, and an Austin airport-related label. They are useful secondary references, but the larger pattern matters more: dense development is concentrated around Austin, while the western side is broken by reservoirs, steep valleys, and irregular settlement shapes.
Six ranked cities reveal two very different sides of the county
The ranked city map highlights Austin, Pflugerville, Lakeway, Manor, Lago Vista, and Bee Cave. Austin is the dominant number 1 city near the center. Pflugerville and Manor occupy the northeast and east, while Lakeway and Bee Cave sit much closer together on the western hill-and-lake side. Lago Vista is farther northwest near Lake Travis. Removing the smaller place labels makes the east-west split in urban geography much easier to recognize.
The CITY INDEX prints map values of 979,539 for Austin, 65,971 for Pflugerville, 19,307 for Lakeway, 18,603 for Manor, 9,650 for Lago Vista, and 8,862 for Bee Cave. These figures explain the ranking used in the supplied graphic and should be treated as map values rather than guaranteed current population estimates. Anyone needing current demographics should consult an official statistical source. For this map, the useful information is the scale difference between Austin and the outer communities and where those communities sit relative to lakes and lower eastern terrain.
The surrounding counties add useful context to this urban pattern. Williamson County is to the north, Bastrop and Lee counties lie to the east, Caldwell and Hays are to the south, and Blanco and Burnet frame the western side. That geography helps explain why the Lakeway–Lago Vista side looks so different from Manor and Pflugerville: the western communities sit next to the more rugged Hill Country landscape, while the eastern side opens toward lower terrain.
Lake Travis feeds a river corridor that crosses Austin and continues east
The terrain-and-water map is dominated in the west by Lake Travis, a long branching reservoir occupying several steep valleys. Pedernales River approaches that lake system from the west. Below Lake Travis, Lake Austin follows a narrower corridor toward Austin. These two named lakes make the western water geography easy to organize because they form a connected sequence from the high-relief northwest toward the urban center.
Southwest of Austin, Barton Creek follows a winding valley through the higher terrain. Slaughter Creek and Williamson Creek cross the southern interior, while Onion Creek forms one of the most prominent long drainage lines farther south. East of Austin, Colorado River becomes the principal large channel and moves through much lower terrain than the reservoir valleys upstream.
Walter E. Long Lake provides a separate eastern water reference, and the northeast contains Gilleland Creek and Walnut Creek. Harris Branch lies nearby and helps distinguish the Pflugerville–Manor side from the river corridor farther south. The existing article also mentions Lady Bird Lake as part of the urban Colorado River system, but on the supplied terrain-and-water map the most directly labeled large water features are Lake Travis, Lake Austin, Walter E. Long Lake, and the Colorado River itself.
This layer is intended for geographic water and terrain reference rather than flood-risk analysis, navigation, reservoir operations, water depth, or parcel boundaries. Its most useful role here is to show how the western reservoir valleys connect toward Austin and how the Colorado River and eastern creeks continue across the lower half of the county.
Elevation falls sharply from the northwest hills toward the eastern lowlands
The elevation map reports an actual range of about 111 to 432 meters and a mean elevation of 221 meters. The darkest brown high ground is concentrated in the northwest and west, where steep ridges surround Lake Travis and its tributary valleys. Bee Cave and Lakeway also sit within a much more rugged tan-and-brown landscape than the communities east of Austin.
The Colorado River corridor provides the clearest transition through that relief. In the west, water occupies narrow winding valleys between high ridges. Around Austin, the low corridor widens, and farther east the map becomes predominantly green as the river crosses broader lowlands. Smaller western tributaries such as Bee Creek also cut deeply into the uplands, reinforcing the contrast between the Hill Country side and the flatter eastern half.
This countywide elevation surface is designed for broad terrain comparison rather than parcel surveying, engineering, or construction design. It is useful for seeing why Lakeway, Bee Cave, and Lago Vista occupy a more dissected landscape, why the lake shorelines are so irregular, and why Manor and the eastern side appear much more open. Exact site elevation should be checked with detailed source data or a local survey.
Choose the view by whether cities, reservoirs, roads, or relief matters most
Use the county reference map when Austin, the outer communities, road labels, and the county boundary need to appear together. The ranked city view is cleaner for comparing Austin, Pflugerville, Lakeway, Manor, Lago Vista, and Bee Cave. The terrain-and-water layer is the best place to follow Lake Travis, Lake Austin, Colorado River, Walter E. Long Lake, and the main creeks, while the elevation map makes the western hills and lower eastern terrain easiest to compare.
The downloadable ZIP contains four separate high-resolution A3 JPG files for Travis County: county reference, ranked city, terrain and water, and elevation. You can inspect the lighter WebP versions in the article first and then use the larger JPG files for printing, classroom material, presentations, or an editable local-reference document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are Lakeway and Bee Cave compared with Austin?
Both are west of Austin on the supplied maps. Bee Cave is closer to the city, while Lakeway lies farther northwest on the lake-and-hill side near the Lake Travis and Lake Austin area.
Are Pflugerville and Manor in the same part of Travis County?
They are both on the eastern side of Austin, but not in the same position. Pflugerville is northeast of the city, while Manor is farther east and slightly south of Pflugerville.
What elevation range is shown for Travis County?
The supplied elevation map states an actual range of about 111 to 432 meters and a mean elevation of 221 meters. Western and northwestern terrain is much higher and more rugged than the broad eastern lowlands.
Map File Information
The ZIP contains the four Travis County maps in high-resolution A3 JPG format.
- Included Versions: County reference, ranked city, terrain and water, elevation
- Included Files: 4 A3 JPG maps
Related Maps
Sources and data references
Roads, place locations, and the Travis County boundary can be cross-checked with the U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles. Lake Travis, Colorado River, Pedernales River, and named creeks can be checked against USGS National Hydrography, while terrain height data are available through the USGS 3D Elevation Program. City index values, route references, named waters, and the 111–432 meter elevation range described above are based on the Travis County maps and existing article material supplied in this package.
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.
