Comanche County occupies a distinctive part of southwestern Oklahoma where the city of Lawton sits close to military land, open plains, creek valleys, and the rugged Wichita Mountains. The county map makes that contrast visible immediately. Lawton is the main urban reference point, Cache lies to the west, Elgin and Fletcher are to the northeast, Geronimo is south of the city, and Sterling is farther east. The landscape becomes much rougher toward Medicine Park and the Wichita Mountains, while the eastern and southern portions of the county are generally lower and more open.
The map files shown on this page can be downloaded as high-resolution JPGs in a single ZIP archive. The main county map combines boundaries, roads, places, and nearby features; the city map gives a cleaner comparison of the principal communities. The terrain and water map follows Medicine Creek, the Cache Creek systems, and several mountain lakes, while the elevation map emphasizes the sharp relief of the Wichita Mountains against lower ground around Lawton and across the eastern half of the county.
Table of Contents
Lawton anchors the county road network
Lawton appears slightly south of the county’s center and provides the easiest starting point for reading the road map. US 62 crosses the county from the Cache area through Lawton and continues east, making it a useful west-to-east reference. I-44 runs north and south through Lawton and continues toward the Elgin and Fletcher area. US 277 and US 281 are also important references north of the city, while State Highway 7 extends eastward. In the western mountain area, Highways 49 and 115 are more prominent, and the northeastern and eastern sections include Highways 17 and 65.
The county boundary is more irregular than a simple rectangle. Its southern edge has several stepped sections, and the eastern side also shifts inward before continuing south. That matters when locating rural places near the edge because a point that looks close to Lawton on a regional map may already be near another county. Reading the dark county outline together with the road system makes it easier to distinguish the Geronimo area, the country south of Faxon, and the eastern side near Sterling.
The broad area north of Lawton is also an important part of the local geography. Fort Sill is directly north of the city; the U.S. Army’s Fort Sill National Historic Landmark and Museum describes its museum location as about three miles north of Lawton. That context helps explain why the built-up street pattern around Lawton changes so abruptly on the map. This county map is not an access or security map for the installation, however. Anyone visiting Fort Sill should rely on current official entry instructions rather than the general geographic reference shown here.
A city pattern that spreads west, northeast, south, and east
The city distribution map simplifies the background so the principal communities are easier to compare. Lawton is by far the largest center in the index. Elgin ranks second and lies northeast of Lawton, Cache ranks third to the west, Fletcher is farther northeast, Geronimo is south, and Sterling is to the east. The arrangement shows that the county does not have a single continuous urban strip. Instead, a dominant central city is surrounded by smaller communities in several different directions.
The ranked city symbols are best treated as an orientation aid rather than a substitute for current demographic tables. Municipal boundaries, census definitions, and population estimates can change, so readers who need current numbers should consult the U.S. Census Bureau or local government sources. For map use, the ranking is still helpful because it quickly distinguishes Lawton from the much smaller surrounding communities and shows which places form the main reference points in the northern, western, southern, and eastern parts of the county.
Medicine Park does not appear in the ranked city index, but it is an important place on the main county map because it marks the approach to the Wichita Mountains area. Cache is another useful western reference along US 62, especially when moving between Lawton and the mountain roads. By contrast, Elgin and Fletcher sit in the lower northeastern part of the county, away from the most rugged relief. Comparing these locations with the elevation map makes the settlement pattern more understandable than viewing the city symbols alone.
Geronimo extends the settlement pattern south of Lawton along the I-44 corridor, while Faxon provides a reference farther southwest. Sterling is separated from the main Lawton cluster on the eastern side. These smaller places are useful when reading the irregular county boundary because they prevent the entire county from being treated as simply the Lawton metropolitan area. The maps show a mix of urban, military, mountain, and rural landscapes within the same county limits.
Medicine Creek, Cache Creek branches, and mountain lakes
The terrain and water map is most detailed in the northwestern mountains. Medicine Creek winds through that area, accompanied by a series of named lakes including Grama Lake, French Lake, Lake Rush, Lake Jed Johnson, Quanah Parker Lake, and Elmer Thomas Lake. The shaded terrain underneath the blue water features makes it clear that these lakes are associated with a broken landscape of ridges and valleys rather than a broad flat basin.
Farther south and east, the drainage pattern becomes easier to follow as longer streams cross lower terrain. Stony Creek and West Cache Creek occupy the western and southwestern side. Blue Beaver Creek runs through the south-central portion, while East Cache Creek forms one of the most prominent north-to-south water references east of Lawton. Lake George is labeled along this system. Beaver Creek appears near the eastern side, and the Little Washita River is labeled near the northeastern boundary.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge as a landscape of mixed-grass prairie, ancient granite mountains, and freshwater lakes and streams near the Lawton and Fort Sill area. That description matches the strong visual contrast in the map: the northwest contains many short channels, lakes, and rugged slopes, while longer creek courses become more prominent across the lower center and east. Refuge visitor information also lists several of the same lakes shown here, including Lake Elmer Thomas, Quanah Parker Lake, Jed Johnson Lake, Rush Lake, and French Lake.
This water map should be used as a geographic reference, not as a flood, navigation, or property-boundary product. It does not show real-time water levels, legal stream boundaries, flood insurance zones, or safe boating conditions. For orientation, begin with one of the major names. East Cache Creek is useful around the central-eastern side, West Cache Creek and Stony Creek help organize the west, and Medicine Creek links the lakes and mountain terrain in the northwest. Smaller tributaries are much easier to understand once those larger references are established.
The Wichita Mountains rise sharply above the lower county
The elevation map provides the clearest explanation for the county’s dramatic change in scenery. Its legend shows an actual elevation range of roughly 302 to 748 meters, with a mean near 398 meters. The highest colors are concentrated in the northwest, where brown and orange ridges form the Wichita Mountains. Moving east and south, those colors give way to yellows and then broad greens around Lawton and across much of the eastern and southern county.
The mountain relief is not one continuous plateau. Short ridges, steep knobs, and intervening low areas repeat across the northwest. When the elevation map is compared with the water map, Medicine Creek and the mountain lakes occupy the lower spaces between those higher ridges. The ground drops noticeably toward the Lawton area and becomes more subdued toward Elgin, Fletcher, Sterling, and the southern county. Smaller areas of local relief remain, but they do not dominate the landscape the way the Wichita Mountains do.
The colors on this map represent relative elevation, not land cover. Brown does not automatically mean exposed rock, and green does not mean farmland, forest, or wetland. Elevation and surface cover are separate subjects. The map is derived from elevation data at county scale and is intended for broad geographic comparison. It is especially useful for seeing where the steep mountain belt begins, where the terrain becomes gentler, and how stream valleys fit between higher areas.
The elevation surface is not a survey-grade product. Parcel elevations, construction plans, engineering drainage calculations, and precise slope measurements require site-specific survey or authoritative engineering data. For general map reading, however, it works well alongside the water map. Readers can trace a creek on the hydrographic map, locate the same area on the elevation surface, and see how the channel follows lower ground while nearby ridges rise above it.
Understanding the Wichita Mountains side of Comanche County
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge provides important context for the northwestern corner of the county. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the refuge covers about 60,000 acres of mixed-grass prairie, ancient granite mountains, and freshwater lakes and streams. It lies just outside the Lawton and Fort Sill area and is known for wildlife as well as outdoor recreation. On the county map, Medicine Park, State Highway 49, and State Highway 115 provide useful orientation points before the terrain becomes more rugged.
Road access also changes as the landscape changes. Around Lawton, major regional highways such as US 62 and I-44 dominate the map. Near the refuge, Highways 49 and 115 become more important for orientation. Fish and Wildlife Service visitor directions likewise describe approaches from I-44 via Highway 49 and from US 62 via Highway 115. Because refuge road conditions, closures, and visitor rules may change, anyone planning a trip should use the current official refuge information rather than treating this static map as a live access guide.
The combination of the water and elevation maps makes the refuge area easy to distinguish from the rest of Comanche County even without a land-management overlay. Mountain ridges crowd the northwest, lakes occupy valleys among them, and Medicine Creek ties several of those water features together. Eastward, the relief drops toward Lawton and the lower plains. That close juxtaposition is one of the county’s defining geographic traits: a large city, a major military installation, protected mountain country, and rural communities all occur within a relatively compact regional map.
Which Comanche County map should you use?
Start with the main county map when you need a broad answer to ‘where is it?’ It gives the strongest combination of road numbers, community names, county boundary, nearby places, and water features. It is the best choice for locating Lawton relative to Cache, Medicine Park, Elgin, Fletcher, Geronimo, and Sterling, or for seeing how US 62, I-44, US 277, and US 281 fit together.
Use the city distribution map when the road network is distracting and the main question is where the principal communities sit relative to one another. For physical geography, the water and elevation maps work best together. The water map supplies stream and lake names; the elevation map explains the ridges, valleys, and broad change from high northwestern terrain to lower eastern and southern ground. Switching between those two views is especially useful around Medicine Creek and the Wichita Mountains.
For classroom materials, local reference sheets, or printed handouts, it is often clearer to select the one or two maps that match the topic instead of crowding every layer onto a single page. The road-and-boundary map is best for general orientation, the city map for settlement distribution, the water map for named streams and lakes, and the elevation map for relief. Each map covers the same county, but each is designed to make a different set of features easier to read.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which map is best for finding Lawton and the major highways?
Use the main county map. It places Lawton together with US 62, I-44, US 277, US 281, and the surrounding communities. Cache and Medicine Park are easy to locate to the west, Elgin and Fletcher to the northeast, Geronimo to the south, and Sterling to the east. The city map is a useful companion when you want a cleaner comparison of community locations without as many road labels.
Where can I see the Wichita Mountains and their lakes most clearly?
The elevation map shows the mountain relief most clearly, with the highest terrain concentrated in the northwest. The terrain and water map is better for named lakes and streams, including Medicine Creek, Quanah Parker Lake, Lake Jed Johnson, Lake Rush, French Lake, and Elmer Thomas Lake. Viewing the two maps together connects the lakes with the surrounding ridges and valleys.
Can the elevation map be used for surveying or construction design?
No. It is a generalized county-scale surface intended for geographic orientation and comparison of higher and lower terrain. Parcel elevations, engineering work, drainage design, or precise slope calculations require site-specific survey data or authoritative technical datasets for the exact location.
Map File Information
The ZIP archive contains the high-resolution JPG originals used for the Comanche County maps on this page: the county map, city distribution map, terrain and water map, and elevation map.
- Printable Size: 3638 × 2572 px each
Related Maps
Sources and References
County government information is available from the official Comanche County website. Current population and general statistics can be checked with U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, while boundary data are available through U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line. Water references are supported by USGS National Hydrography and elevation data by the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Natural-area context and visitor information come from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, and Fort Sill context can be checked through the U.S. Army Fort Sill National Historic Landmark & Museum.
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.
