--- description: New drilling techniques like hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling are bringing jobs and surplus cash to the region title: Photos From Inside North Dakota’s Oil Boom Town image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt908dc27b52dcd039/698698e31eebf73d9337192c/131022-north-dakota-oil-001.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Photos From Inside North Dakota’s Oil Boom Town by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2014 10:40 PM CUT  A gas flare is seen at an oil well site on July 26, 2013 outside Williston, North Dakota. Gas flares are created when excess flammable gases are released by pressure release valves during the drilling for oil and natural gas. A gas flare is seen at an oil well site on July 26, 2013 outside Williston, North Dakota. Gas flares are created when excess flammable gases are released by pressure release valves during the drilling for oil and natural gas.Andrew Burton—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2014 10:40 PM CUT  A gas flare is seen at an oil well site on July 26, 2013 outside Williston, North Dakota. Gas flares are created when excess flammable gases are released by pressure release valves during the drilling for oil and natural gas. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  Ray Gerish, a floor hand for Raven Drilling, works on an oil rig drilling into the Bakken shale formation on July 28, 2013. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  An oil drilling rig is seen in an aerial view in the early morning hours of July 30, 2013 near Watford City. N.D. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  Gold plated belt buckles reading, "Rockin' the Bakken, Williston, North Dakota" are displayed at Ritter Brothers Diamond Cutters on July 24, 2013 in Williston. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  Street signs sit in front of empty lots in a new subdivision on July 24, 2013 in Williston. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  Two girls play on a four-wheeler in a new subdivision on July 24, 2013 in Williston. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  Construction workers specializing in pipe-laying grill lunch while working on a pipeline that will stream line oil production from drill sites to train yards and oil refineries on July 25, 2013 outside Watford City. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  Sections of pipe are lined up before being used to drill at Raven Drilling's oil rig on July 28, 2013 outside Watford City. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  Russell Girsh, a floor hand for Raven Drilling, helps line up a pipe while drilling for oil in the Bakken shale formation on July 23, 2013 outside Watford City. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  A coal-burning energy plant is seen in an aerial view in the early morning hours of July 30, 2013 near Bismarck. Andrew Burton—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2914944/photos-from-inside-north-dakotas-oil-boom-town/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2914944/photos-from-inside-north-dakotas-oil-boom-town/"},"headline":"Photos From Inside North Dakota’s Oil Boom Town","datePublished":"2014-06-23T22:40:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:13.207Z","description":"A look at how an explosion in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling turned Williston, N.D. from a sleepy burg into the center of a modern gold rush","url":"https://time.com/2914944/photos-from-inside-north-dakotas-oil-boom-town/","keywords":["North Dakota"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt908dc27b52dcd039/698698e31eebf73d9337192c/131022-north-dakota-oil-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt908dc27b52dcd039/698698e31eebf73d9337192c/131022-north-dakota-oil-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Oil Boom Shifts The Landscape Of Rural North Dakota","caption":"Oil Boom Shifts The Landscape Of Rural North Dakota","creditText":"Andrew Burton—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2914944/photos-from-inside-north-dakotas-oil-boom-town/","name":"Photos From Inside North Dakota’s Oil Boom Town"}}]}] ```