Where was the first successful oil well drilled?

the first oil well

The first successful oil well in the United States was drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859. It required drilling to only 69 feet to reach this first well. Today drillers probe to much greater depths for oil. There are wells in Texas that reach down as far as 26,000 feet.

Oil is too valuable and drilling too costly merely to guess where it is located. Wells are drilled where the best scientific evidence indicates likely success. A dry hole or a duster, as drillers call a well that does not produce, is a costly mistake to investors.

Oil geologists use the magnetometer, seismograph, and gravimeter in finding oil. These instruments help them locate the proper rock formations where oil may be found. The geologists also study the walls of canyons to look for outcroppings of particular rock formations. Aerials photographs are also studied. Even changes in the number and kinds of plants in an area may offer a clue. The geologists take particular notice of folding or faulting of terrain.