Western Oklahoma opens out broadly across Washita County, where towns are separated by long rural stretches and the road network provides the easiest first reference. New Cordell sits near the middle at U.S. 183 and State Highway 152, while Interstate 40 crosses the far northwest near Canute and Foss. The map set then adds the settlement pattern, the Washita River and tributary system, and the strong elevation contrast between higher western ground and lower country toward the east.
The map files can also be downloaded as four high-resolution JPG images after you review the WebP previews in the article. The larger files are useful for printing, zooming, classroom materials, presentations, and general county reference. They are not intended to replace parcel surveys, legal boundary records, engineering elevation data, flood maps, or navigation products. Used as a set, however, they make it much easier to connect places such as New Cordell, Burns Flat, Sentinel, Corn, Canute, and Dill City with the roads, waterways, and terrain around them.
Table of Contents
Start at New Cordell to understand the highway pattern
The Oklahoma Historical Society places Washita County in western Oklahoma between Custer County to the north, Caddo County to the east, Kiowa County to the south, and Beckham County to the west. Much of the county lies within the Western Redbed Plains portion of the Osage Plains, where rolling prairie and agricultural land are broken by shallow valleys and low ridges rather than large mountain ranges. That broad setting is visible even on the general map, but the differences become much more obvious on the elevation image.
New Cordell is the simplest point from which to orient yourself. It appears close to the county center, and two major routes cross there: U.S. 183 runs north to south, while State Highway 152 runs east to west. The Oklahoma Historical Society’s Cordell entry also identifies the county seat at this highway junction. From that crossing, Bessie and Corn lie generally to the north and northeast, Dill City and Burns Flat are to the west, Rocky and Sentinel are farther south, and Colony is toward the eastern side of the county.
The northwestern corner has a different transportation character because Interstate 40 passes near Canute and Foss. The Washita County history entry specifically notes that I-40 cuts through the county’s northwest corner and that U.S. 183 crosses the county from north to south. State Highway 44 provides another north-south line in the western half, State Highway 54 serves the eastern side, and State Highway 55 stretches across the southern portion. State Highway 115 appears near the southeastern edge, giving the irregular eastern and southern boundary additional road context.
The settlement pattern on the general map is spread out rather than concentrated in one continuous urban corridor. Canute, Burns Flat, Dill City, and Sentinel form a loose western sequence at different latitudes, while Corn and Colony sit farther east. Rocky is south of New Cordell, and the southeastern boundary becomes notably irregular near the route toward Mountain View. Because the county outline is not a simple rectangle, the distance from a town to the county edge can change quickly from one part of the map to another.
This map works best as an orientation layer rather than a street-level navigation product. If you are comparing Burns Flat with New Cordell, SH-44 and SH-152 provide useful reference lines. If Corn or Colony is the destination, the eastern road system around SH-54 is more relevant. Sentinel is easy to place by using SH-55 across the south, while Canute is closely associated with the I-40 corridor. The road structure gives each community a clearer regional role than the town names alone would provide.
The main communities are dispersed across the central, western, and eastern parts of the county
The city distribution map isolates six major communities: New Cordell, Burns Flat, Sentinel, Corn, Canute, and Dill City. New Cordell is ranked first and sits near the center, Burns Flat lies northwest of it, Sentinel is farther southwest, Corn is northeast, Canute is near the northwest edge, and Dill City is west of the county seat. Their spacing is important because it shows that Washita County does not have a single dense urban cluster. Instead, its communities are separated by broad rural areas and connected mainly by state and federal highways.
The CITY INDEX printed on the supplied map lists New Cordell at 2,740, Burns Flat at 1,857, Sentinel at 939, Corn at 601, Canute at 544, and Dill City at 333. Those figures are best treated as the map’s reference values rather than as a substitute for the latest official population estimates. For current demographic work, a Census source should be checked separately. On this map, the more useful takeaway is the relative scale and location of the communities, especially the larger role of New Cordell and Burns Flat compared with the smaller towns spread around them.
New Cordell’s central position makes it the most practical reference point. Burns Flat and Dill City are both west of it but occupy different north-south positions, while Sentinel lies much farther south. Corn sits on the opposite side of the county toward the northeast, and Canute is tied to the northwestern corner. When the city map is paired with the general map, U.S. 183, SH-152, SH-44, and SH-54 help explain how these separated communities are connected across a large rural county.
The city map is not a drive-time or route-planning tool. It does not account for every road bend, speed limit, intersection, temporary closure, or local street. Its strength is the clean comparison of relative position within one county frame. That makes it useful for educational materials, county overviews, and quick regional reference, especially when a reader wants to understand where one town sits before switching to the water or elevation maps.
Comparing settlement with physical geography adds another layer. New Cordell is west of the main Washita River corridor, while Corn and Colony lie closer to the eastern drainage network. Burns Flat, Dill City, and Sentinel occupy the higher western half of the county more often than the eastern river lowlands. This does not mean every town sits on a single uniform landform, but the broader contrast between western uplands and eastern drainage country becomes visible once the city and elevation maps are read together.
The Washita River collects a wide network of creeks across the county
The Washita River is the defining water feature of the county. The Oklahoma Historical Society notes that it drains most of Washita County, while the southwestern corner contains tributaries associated with the North Fork of the Red River system. On the supplied terrain-and-water map, the Washita River bends through the central-eastern and southeastern portions of the county, with numerous smaller channels approaching it from the west, north, and east.
Several named tributaries help reveal the drainage pattern. Boggy Creek extends across the north-central portion, Cavalry Creek approaches the Washita River from the west-central area, and Gyp Creek enters from the east. Oak Creek is labeled in the southeast, while Spring Creek and Little Elk Creek appear in the western half. These named streams are only part of a much denser network of smaller channels. The shaded background shows many narrow valleys cutting through the rolling terrain before converging toward larger creeks and the main river.
Several lakes are also labeled. Clinton Lake appears toward the northwest, Crowder Lake and Worth Richmond Lake are in the northeastern area, Lake Hobart is shown farther southwest, and Lake Vanderwork appears in the southeastern half. Because some of these water bodies are close to county edges, the map is best used to understand general location rather than ownership, access rules, shoreline management, or exact jurisdiction. Those questions require the official source for the individual lake or facility.
The water map becomes more informative when the shaded terrain is considered at the same time. The Washita River follows a broader, lower corridor through the eastern half, while the western and northwestern terrain has more tightly spaced small valleys and branching drainage lines. Many western creeks descend from higher ground before turning toward lower areas to the east or southeast. That pattern helps explain why the river corridor and the higher western country look so different on the elevation map.
This is a geographic reference map, not a flood hazard, property, or navigation product. A blue stream line does not define a regulatory floodplain, public access corridor, or legal water boundary. Flood-risk decisions should be based on FEMA and local emergency or planning sources, while hydrologic analysis is better supported by authoritative datasets such as the USGS National Hydrography program. The map here is intended to show where the major named water features sit and how they relate to surrounding terrain.
Elevation falls from the western uplands toward the Washita River lowlands
The elevation map reports an actual range of about 391 to 616 meters, with a mean near 498 meters. That range is large enough to create a strong visual contrast even though Washita County is not mountainous. The color ramp is locally scaled for the county: brown and tan mark higher ground, while light and dark greens represent lower terrain. The highest broad area is concentrated in the west and northwest, and lower terrain expands toward the east and southeast.
The western edge contains the most extensive brown and orange areas, especially toward the northwest. Around Canute and Burns Flat, the terrain generally stands higher than the greener river country farther east. Moving toward New Cordell, the surface becomes more moderate, and east of the county seat the green tones expand. The Washita River corridor is visible as a lower band that runs through the eastern half and continues toward the southeastern boundary.
The southeast contains some of the broadest low-elevation colors on the map. The lower terrain near the Washita River and the route toward the SH-115 area contrasts with the more elevated southwest and west. Around Sentinel and the western boundary, numerous small ridges and incised valleys remain visible in the shaded relief. A west-to-east cross-county comparison therefore reveals more than a flat agricultural plain: higher uplands give way to intermediate rolling country and then to a lower river valley system.
The map is useful for broad terrain interpretation, but its numbers should not be treated as survey elevations for individual properties. It cannot establish a construction grade, drainage slope, finished-floor elevation, or legal benchmark. Those uses require source elevation data, professional surveying, or engineering work. For regional education and map comparison, however, the image is valuable because it makes the relationship between elevation and the creek network immediately visible.
The local color scaling is also worth remembering. A dark brown area here represents high ground within Washita County, not necessarily one of the highest places in Oklahoma as a whole. Likewise, a dark green valley is low relative to the county’s own range. This county-focused approach improves local contrast and makes subtle landform changes easier to see, but statewide comparisons should use a common elevation scale instead.
Following one place across all four maps connects roads, water, and terrain
New Cordell provides the clearest example of how the map set works together. The general map shows the U.S. 183 and SH-152 crossroads; the city map identifies New Cordell as the largest community in the displayed index; the water map places the main Washita River corridor to the east; and the elevation map shows the city area between higher western country and lower eastern drainage. Looking at the same location four ways gives a much fuller picture than any single crowded map could provide.
Canute is another useful reference. On the general map, it is close to I-40 in the northwest. On the city map, it is clearly separated from the central and southern communities. The water map shows Clinton Lake and a network of smaller channels in the same broad part of the county, while the elevation map places the northwest on noticeably higher ground than the Washita River lowlands. The combined view explains both the transportation setting and the physical setting of the town.
Burns Flat and Dill City help interpret the western interior. Burns Flat is near SH-44, and Dill City is near the SH-152 corridor west of New Cordell. Both are associated with higher western terrain when compared with the greener eastern river valley. The Oklahoma Historical Society also notes the historical importance of the Clinton-Sherman Naval Air Station near Burns Flat, later reused for aviation and industrial purposes. That history adds context to why the western part of the county has transportation and infrastructure features that stand out from many smaller rural communities.
Corn and Colony show the eastern side more clearly. They lie closer to SH-54 and to the denser eastern drainage network. Crowder Lake, Worth Richmond Lake, and several tributaries are visible in this part of the water map, while the elevation map contains more green lowland than the western half. This contrast is one of the most useful county-specific observations in the set: the western side is characterized more strongly by higher rolling terrain, while the eastern side is more closely tied to the Washita River and its lower valleys.
Sentinel and Rocky provide a southern comparison. SH-55 runs across the southern part of the county, while U.S. 183 and SH-44 create different north-south connections. The southwestern area does not drain in exactly the same way as the main Washita River basin, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society’s county description, and the elevation map also shows a different mix of ridges and valleys there. Reading the road, water, and terrain layers together keeps the southern portion from being reduced to a simple list of town names.
Match the map to the question before moving to detailed source data
Use the general county map when your first question is about boundaries, towns, and major transportation. It places New Cordell, Canute, Burns Flat, Dill City, Sentinel, Rocky, Corn, and Colony in the same frame as I-40, U.S. 183, SH-152, SH-44, SH-54, SH-55, and SH-115. For a county overview, that combination gives the fastest sense of how people and roads are arranged.
Use the city distribution map when you want a cleaner comparison of the six highlighted communities. It strips away much of the road detail and makes the location and relative ranking of New Cordell, Burns Flat, Sentinel, Corn, Canute, and Dill City easier to compare. This is especially useful for a presentation or lesson in which too many road labels would distract from the settlement pattern.
Choose the terrain-and-water map for rivers, tributaries, small lakes, and drainage context. The Washita River, Boggy Creek, Cavalry Creek, Gyp Creek, Oak Creek, Spring Creek, Little Elk Creek, Clinton Lake, Crowder Lake, Worth Richmond Lake, Lake Hobart, and Lake Vanderwork are easier to study there than on the general map. Pair it with the elevation image when the goal is to explain why streams collect in certain valleys or why the eastern part of the county sits lower than the west.
The elevation map is the best option for broad topographic comparison. Its 391-to-616-meter range makes the western uplands and eastern river lowlands easy to distinguish, and the shaded relief shows how small valleys cut into the higher ground. For regional explanation, education, and visual reference, the image is very effective. For construction, surveying, drainage design, or parcel-level decisions, use the USGS 3D Elevation Program or other authoritative source data and field measurements.
The downloadable ZIP contains the same four map themes as high-resolution JPG files. According to the supplied asset manifest, each image is approximately 3638 by 2572 pixels, making the originals better suited to printing and detailed zooming than the smaller WebP previews embedded in the article. The maps are intended for general geographic reference and visual communication, so legal boundaries, ownership, flood risk, and engineering measurements should always be confirmed with the appropriate official agency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which map is best for understanding New Cordell’s position in the county?
Start with the general county map because it shows New Cordell at the junction of U.S. 183 and SH-152 and places the surrounding towns and highways in the same frame. The city distribution map is a useful second step when you want a cleaner comparison with Burns Flat, Sentinel, Corn, Canute, and Dill City. If physical geography matters as well, the water and elevation maps show that New Cordell sits west of the main Washita River lowland and between higher western terrain and lower eastern drainage.
Why does the eastern side look lower than the western side on the elevation map?
The supplied elevation map shows higher terrain across much of the west and northwest and lower green terrain along the Washita River corridor in the east and southeast. The water map supports that pattern by showing the main river and tributaries collecting in the lower eastern valleys. Creeks such as Boggy Creek, Cavalry Creek, Gyp Creek, and Oak Creek help illustrate how drainage moves from rolling uplands toward the larger river system.
Can these maps be used for surveying, flood determinations, or construction design?
No. The county boundary, water, and elevation maps are general reference products. The elevation surface is not survey grade, and the water map does not define regulatory floodplains, legal water boundaries, or access rights. Surveying, engineering, construction, parcel work, and flood-risk decisions require current authoritative data from the relevant agencies and, when necessary, professional field measurements.
Map File Information
Download a ZIP containing four high-resolution JPG maps for Washita 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, including the Oklahoma Historical Society entry for Washita County, the Cordell entry, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation Washita County highway map, the USGS National Hydrography program, and the USGS 3D Elevation Program.
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.
