Oklahoma City Oil Field EarthCache
Hidden : 9/12/2015
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:


If you’ve spent any time pondering the absence of Earthcaches in Central OKC, one of the reasons for that may be that some of the most Earthcache-worthy geological features in this region are actually hidden below our feet in what is basically termed a “Anticlinal structural trap”. Under our feet is an underground dome structure topped with a layer of impermeable rock and clay.

The rocks in this region slope downward on the sides intersecting other more porous rock and clay features, either through natural formation and/or due to fault lines and fault shifts. This results in a dome structure welling-up (no pun intended). The end result is hydrocarbons rising through the underlying porous structures and accumulating under the impermeable rock in the dome, creating a trapped, oval-shaped pool of oil below the surface. In the case of this Earthcache, it is otherwise known as the Oklahoma City Oil Field!



Oklahoma City sits on top of one of the largest petroleum fields in the world, with the State Capitol building located very near the center region. The field is approximately 12 miles long and 4.5 miles wide, encompassing 32 square miles, with a productive area of 13,770 acres. Cumulative lifetime production for the field is in excess of 1 Billion BOE. In addition to the trap, there are other contributing features specific to the Oklahoma City Oil Field including several fault intersections which contribute to several unconformities. Within the trap, there are several producing reservoirs, including the Wilcox Sand and the Ordovician Basal Oil Creek Sand. The Wilcox Sand reservoir was the source for one of the most publicized wells in history when the Wild Mary Sudik well blew-out on March 26, 1930, and remained “gushing” for 11 days before being capped on the third try.

As a Geocacher, please review the requirements necessary to log this cache shown below. Please email the answer to the following question (please don’t post your answer in your log on the page, or I will have to delete that entry, no offense intended):

• How would the sand deposit that is directly under the capitol building have been accessed and the oil it contained pumped out? (Hint: S_A_T Well)

• The derrick located at the posted coordinates, and others like it, at one time were fully functioning wells, and made Oklahoma the only state to have an active well on its Capitol grounds. How tall would you estimate the oil derrick standing in front you to be?

• Although a far cry lower than the number of derricks that once populated this area (as you can see from the picture on the cache page) from the general location and posted coordinates, how many derricks can you see in the distance, including the one at this location? I counted 5 on my visit.


Ecclesiastes 3:1-6 "To everything there is a season...a time to search and a time to give up...."

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

svefg dhrfgvba--vapyvar

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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