Johnson National Grasslands to the south in the state of Texas. Other nearby areas include Quartz Mountain State Park, Black Kettle National Grasslands, and the Lyndon B. To the north of the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge also lies the Narrows Wilderness Area. There are multiple creeks and streams that run throughout the region, particularly in the southeastern portion.Īdditionally, the former reservation of the Kiowa Indian Tribe, Comanche Nation, Apache Tribe, and Fort Sill Apache Tribe is surrounded by popular outdoor recreation areas. Within the wildlife refuge section of the former reservation, there are also numerous smaller lakes. Major bodies of water in the region include Lake Lawtonka, Tom Steed Reservoir, Elmer Thomas Lake, and French Lake. The gentle slopes that lie to the west of the mountains offer a sharp contrast to the range. Rugged canyons and valleys in the region are met with alpine meadows and vast fields that are used for ranching. The peaks are incredibly rocky and craggy, and they often contain minimal vegetation.īetween the rugged peaks of the former reservation lie a plethora of unique geographic features.

The peaks in the region trend in a northwest-southeast direction across the landscape. The land to the west of the wildlife refuge features flat and rolling plains and is often used as farmland. The reservation had been created in 1867 for the Kiowa, Apache, and Comanche tribes.Ī sizable portion of the former reservation land lies within the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses part of the Wichita Mountains of southwestern Oklahoma. This appeals court ruling upheld a district court’s ruling earlier that year that found that a law passed by the federal government in 1900 had required the Tribal Nations to relinquish their claims to the land in exchange for financial compensation.

The reservation was disestablished in 2021 following an Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruling. It was originally located in Tillman, Comanche, Caddo, Grady, Jefferson, Kiowa, Stephens, and Cotton counties.

Prior to 2021, the Comanche Nation (Nʉmʉnʉʉ) Kiowa Tribe, Apache Tribe, Caddo Nation, Delaware Tribe, Fort Sill Apache Tribe, and Wichita and Affiliated Tribes shared a jointly managed reservation that was located in the Southern Plains of Oklahoma. Wichita Mountains Forty-Foot Hole Trail.

Comanche reservation