Editing Osage County, Oklahoma (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.jpg|thumb|A view of Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Osage County, Oklahoma]]

According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|2304|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|2246|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|58|sqmi}} (2.5%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_40.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=February 21, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref> It is the largest county in Oklahoma by area. Most of the county is in the [[Osage Plains]], and consists of open prairie. The eastern part of the county contains the [[Osage Hills]], an extension of the [[Flint Hills]] in [[Kansas]].<ref name = "EOHC-Osage" /> [[Tallgrass Prairie Preserve]] is north of Pawhuska.

Holmes Peak is a mountain northwest of Tulsa in Osage County. It was named by the United States Board on Geographic Names on October 5, 1983, for the fictional detective, [[Sherlock Holmes]]. The name was proposed by Richard S. Warner.<ref>[http://www.tulsalibrary.org/faq/how-did-holmes-peak-get-its-name Tulsa City-County Library.How did Holmes Peak get its name?] Accessed July 26, 2015.</ref> Holmes Peak is the highest point in the Tulsa Metropolitan area, with an elevation of {{convert|1030|feet|m}}, though it ranks only as the 379th highest point in the state.<ref>[http://peakery.com/holmes-peak-oklahoma/ "Holmes Peak."] peakery.com. Accessed July 26, 2015</ref>

Gray Horse Creek, Drum Creek and Salt Creek all drain the southwestern part of the county and flow into the [[Arkansas River]], which is part of the county's southern and western boundaries. Eastern Osage County drains into [[Caney River]], [[Bird Creek]], Hominy Creek, and Delaware Creek. All of these streams flow into the [[Verdigris River]].<ref name = "EOHC-Osage" />

Lakes and reservoirs in the county include:<ref name = "EOHC-Osage" />
* [[Birch Lake (Oklahoma)|Birch Lake]]
* [[Bluestem Lake]]
* [[Hulah Lake (Oklahoma)]]
* [[Kaw Lake]]
* [[Keystone Lake]]
* [[Skiatook Lake]]

In 2012, the Osage Nation took over management of [[Wah-Sha-She State Park]], which includes Hulah Lake, after state budget cuts would have closed it. Hunting is allowed there. The land is owned by the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|US Army Corps of Engineers]], which developed the lake.<ref>{{cite web |title= Why It's Hard to Privatize and Move State Parks |publisher=NPR |url=http://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2011/09/02/why-its-hard-to-privatize-and-move-state-parks/ |access-date= January 6, 2013}}</ref> In 2015, the Osage subleased the renamed [[Wah-Sha-She Park]] to the Hulah Lake Osage Association (HLOA), a non-profit group which took on the task of maintaining the park through volunteer efforts.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.osagenews.org/en/article/2015/02/26/nation-subleases-wah-sha-she-park-volunteers-considers-walnut-creek/ |title=Nation Subleases Wah Sha She Park to volunteers, considers Walnut Creek|publisher= Shannon Shaw Duty, Osage News, February 26, 2015|access-date=August 5, 2020}}</ref>  As of 2020 HLOA still had the park open, supported by campground fees.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.facebook.com/hulahlakeosage/ |title= Hulah Lake Osage Association|publisher=Facebook|access-date=August 5, 2020}}</ref>

It is the most populous and the second-largest county geographically (after [[Corson County, South Dakota]]) of the six U.S. counties that lie entirely within an [[Indian reservation]]. (The six counties in descending order of area are Corson; Osage; [[Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota|Oglala Lakota]] and [[Todd County, South Dakota|Todd]] in [[South Dakota]]; [[Sioux County, North Dakota|Sioux in North Dakota]]; and [[Mahnomen County, Minnesota|Mahnomen in Minnesota]].) Three other counties, [[Thurston County, Nebraska|Thurston in Nebraska]]; and [[Dewey County, South Dakota|Dewey]] and [[Ziebach County, South Dakota|Ziebach in South Dakota]], lie entirely in parts of two separate Indian reservations. A total of nine US counties lie entirely within reservation territory. Dewey County is slightly larger in area than Osage.

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Cowley County, Kansas]] (northwest)
* [[Chautauqua County, Kansas]] (north)
* [[Washington County, Oklahoma|Washington County]] (east)
* [[Tulsa County, Oklahoma|Tulsa County]] (southeast)
* [[Pawnee County, Oklahoma|Pawnee County]] (southwest)
* [[Kay County, Oklahoma|Kay County]] (west)
* [[Noble County, Oklahoma|Noble County]] (west)