The Anadarko Basin is a geologic depositional and

structural basin A structural basin is a large-scale structural formation of rock strata formed by tectonic warping of previously flat-lying strata. They are geological depressions, the inverse of domes. Elongated structural basins are also known as synclines. ...

centered in the western part of the state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

and the

Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

, and extending into southwestern

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

and southeastern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. The basin covers an area of . By the end of the 20th Century, the Anadarko Basin was producing the largest amount of natural gas in the United States. Notable oil and gas fields within the basin include the Hugoton-Panhandle Gas Field, West Edmond Field, Union City Field and the Elk City Field.Bobby D. Weaver, "Anadarko Basin." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed September 13, 2014. The basin is also the only commercial source of iodine in the United States and a major producer of helium.

Name

The name likely comes from either the city of

Anadarko, Oklahoma Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The city is fifty miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 5,745 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County. History Anadarko got its name when its post off ...

or the

Nadaco The Nadaco, also commonly known as the Anadarko, are a Native American tribe from eastern Texas. Their name, Nadá-kuh, means "bumblebee place."Sturtevant, 630 History The Nadaco were part of the trive branch of the Caddo Confederacy and occupie ...

tribe.

Geology

The basin is bound on the south by the Wichita-Amarillo uplift, on the east by the

Nemaha uplift The Nemaha Ridge (also called the Nemaha Uplift and the Nemaha Anticline) is located in the Central United States. It is a buried structural zone associated with a granite high in the Pre-Cambrian basement that extends from approximately Omaha, N ...

, on the north by the Central Kansas uplift, and on the west by the Las Animas arch.

Sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

s from

Cambrian The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...

through

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

age fill the basin. The sedimentary column is thickest, in excess of , at the southern edge, next to the upfaulted Wichita-Amarillo uplift. The basin has an especially thick section of Pennsylvanian rocks, up to thick. The sedimentary column is only thick on its northern and western flanks.

Natural resources

Natural gas

The basin holds one of the most prolific natural gas reserves in North America, with ultimate gas production in excess of of gas. In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the Anadarko Basin held 27.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 410 million barrels of natural gas liquids (NGL)."Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Anadarko Basin Province of Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and Colorado, 2010."
U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved September 14, 2014. An IHS Markit's report estimated more than 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the basin. It is also the 5th largest Natural Gas formation area in the United States. The Lone Star Bertha Rogers well in

Beckham County, Oklahoma Beckham County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,119. Its county seat is Sayre. Founded upon statehood in 1907, Beckham County was named for J. C. W. Beckham, ...

held the record as the world's deepest producing well in 1974-1979. It has subsequently been surpassed by several other deep wells, see deepest artificial point. It was drilled to a depth of .

Crude Oil

In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the Anadarko Basin held 495 million barrels of oil. In 2019, IHS Markit estimated that unconventional reservoirs in unrisked technically recoverable resources of the basin account for 16 billion barrels.

Brine

The brine in the Pennsylvanian Morrow Formation in the Anadarko Basin contains about 300 parts per million

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

, and is the only current commercial source of that element in the United States. Three companies extract iodine from brine produced as a byproduct of natural gas production from depths of to . Iodine production in 2005 was 1,570 tonnes. The Woodward Iodine company plant is west of

Woodward, Oklahoma Woodward is a city in and the county seat of Woodward County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the largest city in a nine-county area. The population was 11,975 at the United States Census. The area was historically occupied by the Kiowa, Coman ...

and uses a deep well north of the city, while the IOCHEM plant east of

Vici, Oklahoma Vici is a town in Dewey County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 611 at the time of the 2020 census. No information appears on the origins of the town name, but Vici is Latin for “I conquered.” History Although it had a couple ...

extracts the brine from a deep well. North American Brine Resources operates a plant near

Dover, Oklahoma Dover is a town in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 464 at the 2010 census. a 26.4 percent gain over the figure of 367 in 2000. History The area around Dover was ideal for cattle grazing, By 1884, all the land had be ...

Helium

Some natural gas in the basin has unusually high helium content (greater than 0.3%). Helium is recovered from produced natural gas as a byproduct. According to the Bureau of Land Management, Helium reserves in the Anadarko basin account for almost one billion cubic meters.

References

External links

New Mexico and Arizona Land Company

''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' - Anadarko Basin
{{Coord missing, Colorado Geologic provinces of the United States Geography of Oklahoma Geology of Oklahoma Geology of Texas Geology of Kansas Geology of Colorado Natural gas fields in the United States Structural basins of the United States