Wichita County

Wichita County is in the extreme north central portion of the state, on the Oklahoma border. Wichita Falls, the largest city and county seat, is 144 miles northwest of Dallas and 141 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The center of Wichita County is at 34°00' north latitude and 98°42' west longitude. The county comprises 606 square miles, most of which lies in the eastern part of the Central Texas Rolling Red Plains. The extreme southeastern corner, however, is in the Central Texas Rolling Red Prairies. The Rolling Plains vegetation includes mid to tall grasses, mesquite and shinnery oak trees, and cottonwood, elm, hackberry, and pecan trees along the streams. The county's terrain consists of rolling plains with rounded slopes and shallow, comparatively broad valleys. The elevation ranges from 900 to 1,200 feet above mean sea level. Wichita County is drained from southwest to northeast by the Red and the Wichita rivers. The northwest quarter of the county empties into the Red River, the middle half drains into the Wichita River, and the southeast quarter drains into the little Wichita River. Sandy loams, black loams, and clay loams comprise the bulk of the local soils. Mineral resources include oil, gas, sand, gravel, and stone. Temperatures range from an average high of 98° F in July to an average low of 28° F in January, combining for an average annual temperature of 63° F. Rainfall averages twenty-seven inches per year, and the growing season lasts, on average, 221 days each year.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.