Coldwater Creek (Oklahoma)
Coldwater Creek is a sometimes-dry stream in the southwestern United States. It starts in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, near the New Mexico border, and drains about 1,903 square miles. The creek also flows through northeastern New Mexico and across the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. It is sometimes called Rabbit Ears Creek because it rises near Rabbit Ears, two mountain peaks in Union County, New Mexico.
From New Mexico it enters the southwest corner of Oklahoma’s Cimarron County, then runs east through Dallam, Sherman, and Hansford counties in the Texas Panhandle. It returns to the Oklahoma Panhandle, passes through the Optima National Wildlife Refuge, and finally joins the Beaver River in Texas County, Oklahoma, about 0.2 miles upstream of Optima Lake Dam.
Optima Lake was built to store water near Hardesty, Oklahoma. Today the lake is mostly dry due to falling water tables and recurring droughts. The project was completed in 1978 but was largely abandoned around 2010; safety-driven demolitions removed some structures, and public areas around the lake are overgrown and lack services. Plans for major improvements have been postponed because of budget cuts to the Army Corps of Engineers.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:23 (CET).