2010 Map of Optima Dam

About this map

Optima Lake dominates this portion of the Oklahoma Panhandle, where the impounded waters of the Beaver River and Coldwater Creek meet. The landscape is defined by the massive infrastructure of the Optima Dam, a significant mid-century water management project in Texas County. Despite the large-scale changes brought by the reservoir, older signatures of the local community remain visible through family and community burial grounds, such as the Hardesty Cemetery near the lake’s edge and the Brethren Cemetery further north. The map documents a strictly organized grid of rural roads, including Mile 47 and S Rd, which navigate the high plains surrounding the river valley and the ephemeral drainage of Dry Creek.