Coldwater Creek is an intermittently-flowing stream in northeastern
New Mexico, and the panhandles of
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
and
Texas. As far back as 1907, the USGS reported that Coldwater Creek is a dry sand bed most of the year. One source says that Coldwater Creek is also known as Rabbit Ears Creek, because it rises near
Rabbit Ears, a pair of mountain peaks in
Union County, New Mexico
Union County ( es, Condado de la Unión, link=) is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,549, making it the fourth-least populous county in New Mexico. Its county seat is Clayt ...
. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Coldwater Creek drains an area of .
Stream course
From New Mexico, it enters the south-west corner of
Cimarron County, Oklahoma in the
Oklahoma Panhandle
The Oklahoma Panhandle (formerly called No Man's Land, the Public Land Strip, the Neutral Strip, or Cimarron Territory) is a salient in the extreme northwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, consisting of Cimarron County, Texas Count ...
. It passes easterly through
Dallam,
Sherman
Sherman most commonly refers to:
*Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name)
** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General
*M4 Sherman, a tank
Sherman may also refer to:
Places United St ...
, and
Hansford counties in the
Texas Panhandle. Returning into the
Oklahoma Panhandle
The Oklahoma Panhandle (formerly called No Man's Land, the Public Land Strip, the Neutral Strip, or Cimarron Territory) is a salient in the extreme northwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, consisting of Cimarron County, Texas Count ...
, the course passes through the
Optima National Wildlife Refuge, before joining the
Beaver River in
Texas County, Oklahoma above
Optima Lake Dam.
Optima Lake
Optima Lake was built to be a reservoir about northeast of
Hardesty, Oklahoma
Hardesty is a town in Texas County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 212.
History
The original Hardesty was four miles northeast of the present community. It had a post office in 1887, with the name honor ...
or east of
Guymon. The lake is essentially dry most of the time, because of declining water table levels
[Logan Layden, “If you Want to Build a New Lake in Oklahoma, Forget History,” March 28, 2013, StateImpact Oklahoma] and periodic droughts that have affected the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas. As a result, the lake project (completed in 1978), was largely abandoned in 2010 when picnic tables and other structures were demolished for safety reasons. Public use areas have been left open, but are overgrown by vegetation and without services such as electricity and water. Major improvements have been postponed indefinitely because of budget cuts to the Corps of Engineers.
["Optima Lake State Park," AbandonedOK.](_blank)
Accessed August 21, 2015.
See also
*
List of rivers of Oklahoma
*
List of rivers of Texas
*
Optima Lake
Notes
References
*
USGS Geographic Names Information Service*USGS Hydrologic Unit Map - State of Texas (1974)
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Rivers of Oklahoma
Rivers of Texas
Rivers of New Mexico
Tributaries of the Arkansas River
Rivers of Cimarron County, Oklahoma
Rivers of Dallam County, Texas
Rivers of Sherman County, Texas
Rivers of Hansford County, Texas
Rivers of Texas County, Oklahoma