Washington County occupies a narrow north–south strip in northeastern Oklahoma, with the Kansas state line at its northern edge and Tulsa County to the south. Bartlesville and Dewey form the main urban concentration, while Copan lies farther north and Ochelata, Ramona, and Vera extend the settlement pattern toward the southern end of the county. The maps on this page show that long shape clearly and make it possible to compare roads, communities, water features, and elevation without treating any one layer as the whole story.
Visitors who need the actual map files can download a ZIP containing four high-resolution JPG maps after reviewing the web previews below. The county map is useful for orientation, the city map emphasizes the relative position of the six named communities, the terrain-and-water map follows the Caney River system and Copan Reservoir, and the elevation map highlights the county’s low valleys and higher ridges. Using them together is especially helpful in a county where the major road network and many communities line up along the same north–south direction.
Table of Contents
A long county between the Kansas line and the Tulsa County edge
The county outline is much taller than it is wide. Washington County is in northeastern Oklahoma, bordered by Kansas on the north, Osage County on the west, Nowata and Rogers counties on the east, and Tulsa County on the south. The Oklahoma Historical Society describes it as the state’s smallest county by total land and water area and identifies Bartlesville as the county seat. That compact area, combined with the elongated outline, helps explain why a few central routes are so important for understanding the map.
Bartlesville is the most visually dominant developed area on the county map. Dewey sits immediately to its north, close enough that the two appear as a connected urban area at this scale. The map also labels the Washington County Courthouse, Jane Phillips Medical Center, and Oklahoma Wesleyan University, which gives the Bartlesville area useful reference points beyond a simple city label. Continuing north leads to Copan; southward, the named communities are Ochelata, Ramona, and Vera.
U.S. 75 provides the strongest road reference. It runs north–south through the middle of Washington County, passing the Bartlesville–Dewey area and continuing toward Copan and the Kansas line. U.S. 60 crosses the Bartlesville area from west to east and meets U.S. 75, making that junction an obvious orientation point. Oklahoma Department of Transportation records likewise show U.S. 75 extending from the Tulsa County line through Bartlesville to Kansas, while U.S. 60 continues east from Bartlesville toward the Nowata County line.
State Highway 123 links the Bartlesville side of the urban area with Dewey, and State Highway 10 appears near Copan in the northern part of the county. The general map does not attempt to show every local road. Instead, it gives a practical framework for understanding how the major communities sit inside the county boundary and how the principal highways connect them. That framework becomes more useful when the same places are compared with the water and elevation maps later on the page.
Bartlesville anchors a six-community north–south settlement pattern
The city distribution map ranks six named communities and places them against the same narrow county outline. Bartlesville is shown as the largest by a wide margin, followed by Dewey. Copan occupies the northern section, while Ochelata and Ramona sit to the south of Bartlesville and Vera appears near the southern end. The result is not a scattered pattern across a broad county; instead, the communities form a clear sequence from north to south.
The CITY INDEX printed on the supplied map lists Bartlesville at 37,878, Dewey at 3,412, Copan at 772, Ramona at 629, Ochelata at 599, and Vera at 323. Those figures are best treated as the map’s own reference values rather than as a substitute for the latest Census release. Their most useful role here is showing the scale difference among the communities. Bartlesville is the dominant population center, Dewey is a much smaller second center immediately north of it, and the remaining communities are small towns distributed along the county’s length.
The neighboring-county labels also help with orientation. Osage County is on the west, Nowata County is to the northeast and east, Rogers County is to the east-southeast, and Tulsa County lies along the south. Bartlesville is positioned relatively close to the western side of Washington County, whereas Vera lies farther southeast. Copan and Dewey line up near the northern segment of U.S. 75, reinforcing the relationship between the road corridor and the county’s settlement pattern.
This is not a turn-by-turn street map, and it does not show travel times. Its value is in quickly answering questions such as whether Copan is north or south of Bartlesville, which communities are clustered together, and which towns are closer to the southern county line. Once that layout is clear, the terrain-and-water map makes it easier to understand why the Caney River and Copan Reservoir occupy different parts of the same long county.
Copan Reservoir and the Caney River organize the water map
Copan Reservoir is the largest and most recognizable water feature on the supplied terrain-and-water map. It lies west of the town of Copan in the northern part of Washington County. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers identifies Copan Lake as a reservoir on the Little Caney River, a tributary of the Caney River within the Verdigris River watershed. That description matches the map, where the Little Caney River enters the reservoir area and the broader river system continues through the county.
South of the reservoir, the Caney River becomes the dominant winding channel through the central and western part of the county. Its shape contrasts sharply with the relatively straight U.S. 75 corridor shown on the general map. The road provides a human transportation spine; the river follows lower ground and bends repeatedly through the landscape. Comparing the two maps helps explain why a place that looks close in a straight line may still be separated by a river bend, tributary valley, or ridge.
Several named tributaries and smaller water bodies add detail. Cotton Creek and Brush Creek are labeled in the north, while Coon Creek, Fish Creek, and Hogshooter Creek appear farther south and east. Youngs Lake, Long Lake, Silver Lake, and Lake Todd are also marked, and Summer Creek is visible near the southern end. These features make the map useful for understanding local drainage and water distribution, but it should not be treated as a flood-insurance map, legal property map, or navigation chart.
The shaded terrain behind the waterways provides another clue. Flatter, lower-looking land follows much of the Caney River corridor, while more strongly textured ridges appear along the eastern side and in some western-margin areas. Around Copan Reservoir, the contrast between the basin and nearby higher ground is easy to see. The elevation map uses color to make those differences more explicit and allows a direct comparison with the water network.
Elevation ranges from broad low valleys to ridges along the county margins
The supplied elevation map reports an actual elevation range of roughly 177 to 314 meters, with a mean near 222 meters. Washington County is not mountainous, yet that range is enough to create visible valleys, ridges, and rolling uplands. Green shades represent lower terrain, while tan and brown shades mark progressively higher ground. Shaded relief adds texture so that the shape of ridges and drainage lines can be seen even where no place names are printed.
A broad belt of lower terrain extends through the central and southern portions of the county and overlaps much of the Caney River corridor. The eastern side contains repeated higher ridges, especially in the north and middle sections, while smaller high areas also appear near portions of the western boundary. The southern half has an especially clear contrast between low green valley terrain and ridges rising to either side. Those differences help explain the branching pattern of the creeks seen on the water map.
This is a generalized county-scale elevation surface, not survey-grade data. It is appropriate for understanding broad terrain differences, comparing valleys with uplands, or adding geographic context to a presentation. It should not be used to establish the exact elevation of a parcel, design drainage, set construction grades, or replace a professional survey. For technical work, the USGS 3D Elevation Program or site-specific measurements are the proper next step.
Reading the four maps together reveals the county’s geography
The strongest way to use the set is to choose one place and follow it across the maps. Bartlesville is the easiest example. On the general map it sits near the intersection of U.S. 60 and U.S. 75; on the city map it is clearly the county’s largest community; on the water map it lies near the Caney River system; and on the elevation map the surrounding lowlands contrast with the higher terrain to the east. Each map adds a different piece without forcing all information into one crowded image.
Copan provides another useful comparison. The general map places the town on the northern U.S. 75 corridor, with State Highway 10 nearby. The water map shows Copan Reservoir immediately to the west and the Little Caney River feeding the reservoir system. The elevation map then shows the lower basin around the reservoir and higher terrain east of it. Moving through the maps in that order turns a single town label into a clearer picture of roads, water, and terrain.
The southern communities can be read the same way. Ramona sits near U.S. 75, while Vera is close to the southern end of the county. On the water map, the Caney River continues through the lower half and smaller features such as Lake Todd and Summer Creek appear nearby. The elevation map shows a mix of broad low ground and surrounding ridges. Because Washington County is so elongated, the gradual changes from Copan in the north to Vera in the south are easier to notice than they would be on a single all-purpose map.
Choosing the right map for a specific task
Use the general county map when the priority is boundary orientation, major roads, and named places. It is the clearest option for showing where Bartlesville, Dewey, Copan, Ochelata, Ramona, and Vera sit relative to U.S. 75 and U.S. 60. The city distribution map is better when the question is about the relative position and scale of those communities rather than highways or terrain.
Choose the terrain-and-water map when rivers, reservoirs, tributaries, and drainage context matter. Copan Reservoir, the Little Caney River, the Caney River, and multiple named creeks are easier to see there than on the general map. Use the elevation map when the goal is to compare low valleys with higher ridges or to understand how the water network relates to terrain. For many educational or reference uses, placing two maps side by side is more informative than trying to find one map that contains every detail.
The downloadable archive contains the same four map themes as high-resolution JPG files, each approximately 2572 by 3638 pixels according to the supplied manifest. Those larger originals are better suited to printing, zooming, or placing into documents than the smaller WebP previews used in the article. They are intended for general geographic reference and visual communication, not for legal boundary determination, parcel work, engineering design, or surveying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which map is best for comparing Bartlesville with Copan Reservoir?
Start with the general county map to locate Bartlesville, Dewey, Copan, U.S. 75, and State Highway 10. Then switch to the terrain-and-water map, where Copan Reservoir and the Little Caney River are much more prominent. If the terrain around the reservoir also matters, the elevation map adds the contrast between the lower basin and the higher ridges to the east.
What is the clearest north–south reference through Washington County?
For roads, U.S. 75 is the clearest reference because it runs from the Tulsa County side through the Bartlesville–Dewey area and continues toward Copan and the Kansas state line. For natural geography, the Caney River provides another north–south thread, although it bends through the lower terrain rather than following a straight route.
Can the elevation map be used for surveying or construction grades?
No. The elevation map is a county-scale visualization designed to show broad differences in terrain. Although the legend gives an approximate range of 177 to 314 meters, the image does not provide parcel-level or survey-grade accuracy. Engineering, drainage, construction, and legal work should use authoritative source data and professional field measurements.
Map File Information
Download a ZIP containing four high-resolution JPG maps for Washington County: the general county map, city distribution map, terrain-and-water map, and elevation map.
- Included Files: 4 maps
- File Type: JPG
Related Maps
Sources and references
Geographic descriptions were checked against the supplied maps and authoritative references. Useful sources include the official Washington County website and its Statistical Information page, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Copan Lake data, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation Washington County Control Section Log, and the USGS 3D Elevation Program. County location and historical background were also checked against the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture entry for Washington County.
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.
