Runnels County sits in west-central Texas, and its mapped geography is easiest to understand by starting with Ballinger. The county seat lies a little south of the geographic center, while Winters is well to the north and Miles and Rowena are toward the southwest. Major highways connect those communities across a largely rural county, and the water map adds a second layer of detail by showing the Colorado River, Elm Creek, and a network of smaller creeks. The elevation map then explains why many of those streams follow long, lower corridors through the county. High-resolution JPG versions of the maps shown on this page are also available in a downloadable ZIP file.
This is not a page built around one generic county outline. The four supplied maps emphasize different parts of Runnels County: settlement and roads, direct city connections, rivers and lakes, and elevation. Used together, they show a county where Ballinger functions as the main road reference, Winters anchors the northern portion, and the Colorado River crosses the lower southern part of the landscape. The maps are intended for geographic reference and map reading, not for parcel boundaries, flood determinations, navigation, or engineering measurements.
Table of Contents
Ballinger is the clearest starting point for reading the county
Ballinger stands out because several important routes meet in and around the city. U.S. 83 runs north from Ballinger toward Winters, U.S. 67 heads southwest through the Rowena area toward Miles, and State Highway 158 extends west from the Ballinger area. The county map also labels Ballinger Memorial Hospital and Bruce Field, giving the city more reference points than the smaller communities. For someone unfamiliar with the county, that concentration of roads and labels makes Ballinger the most useful place to begin.
Winters appears north of Ballinger near the county’s upper middle section. State Highway 153 crosses the Winters area from west to east, while U.S. 83 continues south toward Ballinger. Wingate is labeled farther northwest. To the southwest of Ballinger, Rowena and Miles sit along the U.S. 67 side of the county. The pattern is not a single chain of equally spaced towns. Instead, the settlements branch away from Ballinger in different directions, which becomes especially clear when the city and road maps are viewed together.
U.S. 83 and U.S. 67 organize the main settlement directions
The road pattern gives Runnels County a simple framework without making the county itself look urban. U.S. 83 creates the strongest north-south connection, linking Ballinger with Winters. U.S. 67 takes a different path, leaving Ballinger toward the southwest and passing the Rowena area before reaching the Miles side of the county. State Highway 158 provides another westward route from Ballinger, while State Highway 153 crosses near Winters. These roads help explain why the county’s named communities appear in separate clusters rather than in one continuous developed strip.
The city map also labels neighboring counties around Runnels County, including Coke, Taylor, Coleman, Concho, Tom Green, and Nolan counties. Those labels are useful when the goal is to understand regional direction rather than just locate one town. Ballinger is closer to the center of the county road network, Winters points toward the northern side, and Miles lies close to the southwestern corner. A traveler would still need a current navigation service for turn-by-turn driving, but the county map is effective for understanding how the main places fit together before looking at detailed road directions.
Straight-line distances show how Winters and Miles compare from Ballinger
The city-connections map uses Ballinger as the hub and gives direct distances to two other mapped cities. Winters is shown about 16 miles from Ballinger, while Miles is about 17 miles away. These are straight-line distances between the mapped places, not road-mile measurements. Actual driving distances will be longer because roads do not follow a perfectly straight line. The value of this map is comparison: Winters and Miles are at a similar direct distance from Ballinger even though they lie in very different directions.
Direction is the key difference. Winters is north of Ballinger, following the general U.S. 83 alignment, while Miles is southwest near the county edge. That contrast is useful when explaining the county to someone who knows only the town names. It also prevents a common mistake that can occur when distance is considered without direction: two places can be almost the same distance from a hub but occupy opposite sides of a county. Rowena is not one of the numbered hub connections on this particular city map, but the general county map places it on the southwest side between Ballinger and the Miles direction.
The Colorado River and Elm Creek define the most visible drainage corridors
Water features create a much more detailed pattern than the road network. The Colorado River is the dominant river on the supplied water map, curving across the southern part of the mapped county area. Elm Creek descends through the central portion and meets the larger river system. Farther north, the map labels Valley Creek, Big Coyote Creek, Bluff Creek, and Antelope Creek, each extending southward through long drainage valleys. Mud Creek is marked on the eastern side. These named waterways are surrounded by many smaller tributaries, so the northern and central sections appear finely divided by stream channels even where there are few towns.
The lake labels add local reference points to the drainage map. Old Lake Winters and Lake Winters are shown in the northern half near the Winters area. Lake Ballinger, Elm Creek Lake, Country Club Lake, and Kuhn Lake appear farther south around the Ballinger and lower Elm Creek area. Near the southeastern edge, Lake Ivie is labeled beside the Colorado River. Seeing the river and lake names together helps distinguish the larger water bodies from the numerous smaller creek lines that cross the county.
This map should not be interpreted as a flood map or a navigation chart. It is a terrain-and-water reference designed to show where streams and water bodies lie in relation to the county. It also does not establish property or legal water boundaries. Its strongest use is geographic comparison: for example, a reader can see that Winters is north of the main Colorado River corridor, while Ballinger lies much closer to the central creek system and the southern river valley.
Higher northern ground gives way to lower creek and river valleys
The elevation map reports an actual county range of about 461 to 703 meters, with a mean elevation of about 553 meters. The strongest high-elevation colors occur across the northern and northeastern portions, where brown and tan areas cover broad uplands. Lower green areas extend through the center and become especially noticeable along the creek valleys and the southern Colorado River corridor. That color transition gives the county a clear topographic story: the highest ground is not concentrated around Ballinger, while many of the main drainage routes occupy lower terrain.
The county is not a smooth slope from north to south. Smaller ridges and incised valleys appear throughout the shaded terrain, and the northeast contains several noticeably higher patches. Even so, the broad contrast between the northern uplands and lower central-southern drainage corridors is easy to see. When this map is compared with the water map, many green low areas line up with Elm Creek, the Colorado River, and other stream valleys. That relationship is one of the most useful reasons to view the water and elevation maps as a pair.
The elevation surface is generalized for county-scale viewing. It is appropriate for understanding broad relief, comparing high and low parts of the county, or adding terrain context to the road and water maps. It should not be used as a survey-grade source, an engineering elevation model, or a substitute for site-specific measurements. Anyone working at a property or construction scale should use a more precise source designed for that purpose.
Choose the map that matches the question you are asking
The general county map is the best first choice for locating Ballinger, Winters, Rowena, Miles, and the principal highways. The city-connections version is more useful when the question is how far Winters or Miles sits from Ballinger in direct geographic terms. For river, creek, and lake locations, the terrain-and-water map removes much of the road emphasis and makes the drainage network easier to follow. The elevation map is the clearest choice when the goal is to compare the northern uplands with the lower central and southern valleys.
Combining two maps can answer questions that one map alone cannot. If you want to explain why the Ballinger area appears close to several water features, compare the county map with the water map. If you are interested in the relationship between creek valleys and lower terrain, place the water and elevation versions side by side. For a classroom handout or a printed county reference, the downloadable JPG files provide a larger source than the WebP images used in the article.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is Winters from Ballinger on the city-connections map?
The map shows Winters about 16 miles from Ballinger. That figure is a straight-line distance, not a driving distance. Winters is north of Ballinger, and U.S. 83 provides the clearest road reference between the two communities on the general county map.
Which water features are most useful for orienting Runnels County?
The Colorado River is the largest named river on the map and crosses the southern portion of the county area. Elm Creek is another strong reference because it runs through the central part toward the Colorado River. Lake Winters, Old Lake Winters, Lake Ballinger, Elm Creek Lake, Country Club Lake, and Kuhn Lake provide additional local reference points.
What does the elevation map show about the north and south?
The map shows generally higher terrain in the north and northeast and lower terrain through many central and southern creek and river valleys. The reported actual elevation range is about 461 to 703 meters, with a mean of about 553 meters. The surface is intended for broad county-scale terrain reference rather than engineering or survey work.
Sources and Reference Data
Boundary, road, and place reference data can be checked through the U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line program. River and stream reference information is available from USGS National Hydrography, and elevation context can be verified through the USGS 3D Elevation Program. The geographic descriptions on this page focus on the cities, roads, waterways, lakes, and elevation information actually shown in the supplied Runnels County maps.
Map File Information
The downloadable ZIP contains the Runnels County reference map, city-connections map, terrain-and-water map, and elevation map as high-resolution A3 JPG files. Use the archive when you need the larger map files for printing or offline reference.
- Included Files: 4 high-resolution JPG maps
- File Type: ZIP archive
Related Maps
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.
