Skiatook Lake is a federally-owned and operated reservoir located in Osage County, Oklahoma, 4 miles (6.4 km) west of the town of Skiatook, 11 miles (18 km) east of Hominy, Oklahoma and about 18 miles (29 km) from Tulsa. The Skiatook Dam is located on Hominy Creek, 14 miles (23 km) upstream of the confluence of Hominy and Bird Creeks. The project purposes include flood control, water quality, water supply, recreation, and fish and wildlife management. The cities of Skiatook, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, and Tulsa use Skiatook Lake as a municipal water supply. Gentle rolling hills of Blackjack and Post Oak interspersed with Tallgrass prairie surround the lake. The lake is under the management of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District.

Osage County is the largest county by area in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Created in 1907 when Oklahoma was admitted as a state, the county is named for and is home to the federally recognized Osage Nation. The county is coextensive with the Osage Nation Reservation, established by treaty in the 19th century when the Osage relocated there from Kansas. The county seat is in Pawhuska, one of the first three towns established in the county. The total population of the county as of 2020 was 45,818.