• An aerial photo of the beginning of a subdivision for permanent homes in McKenzie county near North Dakota’s badlands. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
    An aerial photo of the beginning of a subdivision for permanent homes in McKenzie county near North Dakota’s badlands. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
  • Drivers and their tanker trucks, capable of hauling water and fracking liquid, line up near a natural gas burn off flame and storage tanks in North Dakota. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
    Drivers and their tanker trucks, capable of hauling water and fracking liquid, line up near a natural gas burn off flame and storage tanks in North Dakota. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
  • An oil-producing well with two pumps near the banks of the Missouri River in McKenzie county in North Dakota. The state just surpassed 1 million barrels per day after growing production by 31 per cent annually since 2007. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
    An oil-producing well with two pumps near the banks of the Missouri River in McKenzie county in North Dakota. The state just surpassed 1 million barrels per day after growing production by 31 per cent annually since 2007. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
  • The burn off flame of natural gas lights up the night sky in Williston, North Dakota. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
    The burn off flame of natural gas lights up the night sky in Williston, North Dakota. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
  • A temporary housing development in Watford City, North Dakota. Housing, from apartment blocks in front of oil wells and flares to sprawling trailer parks on bluffs, are popping up across the countryside. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
    A temporary housing development in Watford City, North Dakota. Housing, from apartment blocks in front of oil wells and flares to sprawling trailer parks on bluffs, are popping up across the countryside. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
  • An oil-producing well with two pumps near the banks of the Missouri River in McKenzie county in North Dakota. The state just surpassed 1 million barrels per day after growing production by 31 per cent annually since 2007. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
    An oil-producing well with two pumps near the banks of the Missouri River in McKenzie county in North Dakota. The state just surpassed 1 million barrels per day after growing production by 31 per cent annually since 2007. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
  • Four oil wells in various stages of production, from drilling to a fully functional pump producing well, in McKenzie county, near North Dakota’s badlands. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
    Four oil wells in various stages of production, from drilling to a fully functional pump producing well, in McKenzie county, near North Dakota’s badlands. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
  • The Missouri river winds through the countryside near Williston, North Dakota, which is the epicentre of the oil boom. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
    The Missouri river winds through the countryside near Williston, North Dakota, which is the epicentre of the oil boom. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
  • Heavy machinery plows through farmland for the construction of the US Route 85 bypass around Watford City, North Dakota. The highway between the towns of Williston and Watford City was once a two-lane road across the lonely prairie. Now the road is being transformed into a four-lane highway with bypasses cutting around towns. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
    Heavy machinery plows through farmland for the construction of the US Route 85 bypass around Watford City, North Dakota. The highway between the towns of Williston and Watford City was once a two-lane road across the lonely prairie. Now the road is being transformed into a four-lane highway with bypasses cutting around towns. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
  • A traffic accident adds to the expansion problems of US Route 85 between Williston and Watford City, North Dakota. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
    A traffic accident adds to the expansion problems of US Route 85 between Williston and Watford City, North Dakota. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo

Business

In pictures: North Dakota is America’s new gold rush city

Liz Claus

July 30, 2014

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North Dakota is experiencing an infrastructure-building frenzy, thanks to an oil boom which saw production in the area grow 31 per cent annually since 2007 to 1 million barrels per day.

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