Wichita County

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 county comprises 606 square miles and had a population of 131,800 according to the 2010 census.

The 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. 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.