According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 904 square miles (2,340 km2), of which 901 square miles (2,330 km2) is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km2) (0.4%) is water.[5] Howard County is located at the boundary between the Llano Estacado to the north and the Edwards Plateau to the south. Beals Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River flows through the center of Big Spring and divides these two major physiographic regions.