Washita [key], river, c.450 mi (720 km) long, rising in the Texas Panhandle near the Okla. line and flowing generally SE across Oklahoma to Lake Texoma or the Red River. The Native American name is another spelling of Ouachita. Fort Cobb Dam on Pond Creek and Foss Dam on the river both serve the Washita basin project. The battle of the Washita (1868), in which General Custer defeated the Cheyenne, took place on the river, near the town of Cheyenne, Okla.; the location is now the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site.
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