Oil and gas postcard captions often make claims of the “biggest” oil gusher or the highest rate gas well. This postcard caption has an interesting claim: “the highest oil well in the world.”

Walden, Colorado is located in Jackson County, approximately 100 miles west of Fort Collins. Continental Oil Company completed an oil well in late 1926 and another the following year with surface location elevations of 8200 and 8237 feet.  Many additional wells were drilled in this McCallum oilfield, although it was approximately 40 years later before another McCallum field well had a surface location higher than the 8237 feet.  The current highest well in Colorado is in Gunnison County at an elevation of 11,740 feet.

Thanks to friends and fellow PHI members Tom Sperr and Matt Silverman.