Tulsa County combines one of Oklahoma’s largest urban areas with a river valley, suburban corridors, and a surprising amount of local relief. Tulsa anchors the middle of the county, while Broken Arrow extends the metro area to the southeast, Owasso reaches north along a major highway corridor, and Jenks, Bixby, and Sand Springs sit closer to the Arkansas River. Beyond those built-up areas, the county stretches into creek valleys and ridges that make the outer sections look very different from central Tulsa.
This page brings those patterns together with four map views covering county orientation, major-city distribution, waterways and terrain, and elevation. The high-resolution JPG originals used for the maps are also available as one ZIP download farther down the page, which is useful for print, reports, classroom work, or larger on-screen layouts. These maps are general reference products and should not be used in place of parcel records, legal boundary surveys, flood determinations, engineering measurements, or live navigation.
Table of Contents
Tulsa at the center of a road network spreading north, east, and south
The general map is easiest to read by starting in Tulsa near the center. Broken Arrow forms a second large urban center to the southeast, while Owasso lies north of Tulsa and Collinsville and Skiatook continue farther toward the northern edge. Jenks and Bixby sit closer to the Arkansas River in the south, Sand Springs is positioned to the west along the river corridor, and Glenpool and Liberty help define the lower end of the county. The result is an irregular metropolitan footprint rather than a single compact block of development.
Several major highways explain why those communities connect in different directions. I-44 and U.S. 75 meet in the western part of the Tulsa urban area, U.S. 169 runs north toward Owasso, and U.S. 412 links Sand Springs with Tulsa from the west. I-244 provides another central urban connection, while the Creek Turnpike serves the south and southeast near Jenks and Broken Arrow. These routes do not create one simple grid; they form overlapping north–south and east–west corridors that reflect the spread of the metro area.
The county outline itself is also worth noticing. A long western extension reaches past Sand Springs, while the northern section includes broader rural areas around Skiatook, Sperry, Owasso, and Collinsville. In the central and southeastern sections, city limits push close to county boundaries and the built-up landscape often feels continuous even where municipal lines change. For that reason, roads and rivers can be more useful orientation points than city boundaries alone.
Use this map for regional orientation rather than turn-by-turn driving. Construction, ramp access, lane patterns, and local road conditions change frequently in the Tulsa metro area, and a static map cannot reflect those updates. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation and current navigation services are better sources when an actual trip depends on temporary closures or detailed interchange movements.
A six-city view from Tulsa and Broken Arrow to Owasso and Sand Springs
The ranked city map places Tulsa first with a map index value of 413,794. Broken Arrow is second at 118,180, followed by Owasso at 40,515, Bixby at 30,155, Jenks at 27,102, and Sand Springs at 20,117. These figures are the comparative settlement values built into the map, so they should not be treated as a claim that the map is showing the latest official population estimate. Their main purpose is to make the relative size and spacing of the major communities easy to compare.
The locations show several distinct branches of the county’s urban pattern. Tulsa occupies the middle, Broken Arrow expands the system southeastward, and Owasso sits well to the north along the U.S. 169 corridor. Jenks and Bixby are south of central Tulsa and closely related to the Arkansas River valley, while Sand Springs is separated to the west by the river and the rougher terrain around it. That arrangement explains why no single straight line captures the full shape of the county’s population centers.
Urban continuity is strongest between Tulsa and Broken Arrow, where developed areas and major roads are closely spaced. Moving north toward Owasso or west toward Sand Springs, the landscape opens up and drainage lines become more visible. South of Tulsa, the relationship between the river and the locations of Jenks and Bixby is especially clear. Pairing the city view with the water map gives more context than a list of community names can provide by itself.
For presentations, the ranked version is useful when the goal is to show the main communities without the visual weight of every road. The general map is still the better choice for small places, local routes, or county-edge context. Using the two together lets a reader first understand which centers matter most and then see how those centers fit into the transportation network.
The Arkansas River valley and a network of northern and eastern creeks
The Arkansas River is the dominant water feature. It enters from the west near Sand Springs, passes through the Tulsa urban area, then bends south toward Jenks before turning southeast below Bixby. The broad river corridor forms a low valley that is visible even within heavily developed parts of the county. On the terrain-and-water map, that valley becomes much more prominent than it appears on the road-focused view.
North of Tulsa, Bird Creek and its tributaries organize much of the drainage. Horsepen Creek is labeled farther north, while Mingo Creek runs through the northeastern urban area. Haikey Creek provides another strong drainage line in the southeast, and Rock Creek in the west and Duck Creek in the south mark smaller local valleys. Together these streams show that the county is not simply a flat metro surface; the urban network is draped over a branching natural drainage system.
Several smaller lakes and ponds provide additional landmarks. Lake Yahola and Recreation Lake are labeled north of central Tulsa, Owasso Lake appears farther north, and Marina Lake and Swan Lake are shown in the eastern and central portions of the county. The map also labels Sand Springs Lake along the western river corridor. These water bodies are much smaller than the Arkansas River but can still be useful when identifying local sections of the county.
This is a general hydrographic and terrain reference, not a flood-zone or water-safety map. It does not establish flood insurance status, levee performance, water quality, current streamflow, legal access, or navigability. Smaller channels can change dramatically with rainfall and season. Flood, water-supply, or field-access decisions should rely on current USGS data and appropriate state or local agencies.
A 156–312 meter elevation range from the river lowlands to outer ridges
The elevation legend reports an actual county range of about 156 to 312 meters, with a mean near 209 meters. The lowest greens closely follow the Arkansas River as it crosses the county from west to central Tulsa and then turns south and southeast. Much of the central urban area, along with the Jenks and Bixby river corridor, lies on or near this lower terrain. The river valley is broad enough to create a clear topographic band through the county.
Higher ground is most obvious west of Tulsa around Sand Springs and the western edge, where brown and orange ridges rise quickly on both sides of the river corridor. Additional ridges appear east and southeast of the central city, giving the Broken Arrow side of the county more relief than a conventional street map suggests. These are not mountain elevations, but the contrast with the river lowland is large enough to shape local drainage and the visual character of the landscape.
Northern Tulsa County has more gradual relief. Bird Creek and smaller tributaries occupy lower green corridors, while lighter yellow and tan ridges separate parts of the drainage network around Owasso and farther north. The elevation surface makes those broad undulations visible without overwhelming the map with contour lines. Comparing it with the water map shows how many creek channels follow the lower bands between ridges.
The colors are scaled to Tulsa County, so the same color on a different county map should not be assumed to represent the same elevation. Use the meter values in the legend when an approximate height matters. The surface is designed for county-scale terrain interpretation and is not survey-grade information for a parcel, road slope, building site, drainage design, or engineering calculation.
Three different local settings inside one metropolitan county
West Tulsa County around Sand Springs is the clearest example of how the physical landscape changes the character of the map. U.S. 412 and the Arkansas River create a strong east–west corridor, but the land rises sharply away from the valley and becomes much rougher toward the county’s western edge. A road-only description can make Sand Springs feel like a simple extension of Tulsa, while the terrain view shows a more confined river setting with prominent surrounding ridges.
The northern corridor around Owasso, Skiatook, and Collinsville has a different pattern. U.S. 169 gives Owasso a direct connection to Tulsa, yet the surrounding area contains more open land and a stronger network of smaller creeks. Bird Creek is more important here than the Arkansas River itself. The long northward extension of the county also means that the distance between central Tulsa and the northern communities is a defining part of the county’s geography.
South of Tulsa, Jenks and Bixby are closely tied to the Arkansas River lowland. Jenks sits near the bend where the river turns south, while Bixby lies farther southeast near a broader lowland and the Haikey Creek system. Broken Arrow is farther east and forms its own large urban concentration away from the main river channel. Even within the southeastern metro area, water and terrain create different settings for communities that may look close together on a simplified city map.
Central Tulsa is the most complex area because highways, local roads, the river, and dense development overlap in one place. Moving toward the outer parts of the county, road density falls and natural features become more visually dominant. A useful description of Tulsa County therefore needs both sides of the story: the transportation network of a large metro region and the river-and-ridge landscape that continues underneath it.
Choosing the right Tulsa County map for the task
For general orientation, start with the county map. It provides the strongest combination of city names, major highways, boundaries, and surrounding context. Locate Tulsa first, then use Broken Arrow, Owasso, Sand Springs, Jenks, and Bixby to establish the major directions of the metro area. This version is also the most useful when the relationship between the county and nearby communities matters.
Use the ranked city map when the question is mainly about the spacing and relative prominence of the larger communities. The water view is better for the Arkansas River bend, Bird Creek, Mingo Creek, Haikey Creek, and the labeled lakes. If the point of the illustration is the contrast between the low river corridor and higher western or eastern ridges, the elevation map communicates that difference most directly.
For print or large presentation layouts, use the high-resolution JPG originals rather than enlarging the web previews. Each file is 3638 × 2572 pixels, which helps keep smaller labels and the elevation legend readable. Preserve the original aspect ratio when resizing, and if you crop around a specific city, leave enough nearby road or river context for a reader to understand where that detail sits within the county.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which map is best for locating Tulsa, Broken Arrow, and Owasso together?
Start with the general county map. Tulsa is near the center, Broken Arrow is southeast, and Owasso is north along the U.S. 169 corridor. Sand Springs lies west along the Arkansas River, while Jenks and Bixby are south of central Tulsa. Seeing the city names and major roads together makes the overall metro pattern much easier to follow.
Where can I see the Arkansas River and the main creeks most clearly?
Use the terrain-and-water map. It shows the Arkansas River entering from the west, passing through the Tulsa area, and curving south and southeast, along with Bird Creek, Mingo Creek, Haikey Creek, Rock Creek, and other tributaries. Lake Yahola, Recreation Lake, Owasso Lake, and several smaller water bodies are also labeled.
What elevation range is shown for Tulsa County?
The elevation legend reports an actual range of about 156 to 312 meters and a mean near 209 meters. The Arkansas River valley is among the lowest terrain, while higher ridges are especially visible west of Tulsa and in several eastern and southeastern areas. The map is intended for county-scale comparison, not parcel surveying or engineering design.
Map File Information
The four high-resolution JPG originals used in this Tulsa County article are provided together in one ZIP file. The larger images are useful for print and document layouts where city names, highway lines, creek labels, and the elevation legend need to remain readable.
- Included Files: general county map, ranked city distribution map, terrain-and-water map, and elevation map
- Printable Size: 3638 × 2572 px each
- File Type: JPG
Related Maps
Sources and reference links
- Oklahoma Department of Transportation — Tulsa County Map — official reference for roads, communities, and county context.
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles — official geographic data for county boundaries, roads, and related features.
- USGS National Hydrography — national reference data for rivers, streams, and waterbodies.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program — official elevation and terrain data source.
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.
