Elk City (population 11,693) is a city within Beckham County, Oklahoma. It serves as the trading center for the Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma. Elk City is situated on the shelf of Oklahoma's Anadarko Basin, a geological region blessed with a lot of oil and natural gas. Elk City is located on Historic U.S. Route 66 in Western Oklahoma and on Interstate 40. Oklahoma City lies 180 km to the east.
In 1892, white inhabitants started to arrive within the region after the Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation was opened within the western Oklahoma Territory. The present site of the city lay along the Great Western Cattle Trail running from Texas to Dodge City, Kansas, where ranchers drove their cattle. Agriculture played a major part in the city during the 20th century.
The city is now a modern trading center serving about 50,000 area inhabitants. The most essential industries to the city's economy are petroleum, agriculture, tourism, wind energy, health care, transportation and manufacturing. The city has had steady but slow growth during the past 10 years because of the relocation and opening of drilling companies and oil field services there. The number of jobs is projected to boom, with a 42% increase in employment anticipated.
The city is heavily dependent upon the petroleum industry and is referred to as the "Natural Gas Capital of the World". Downtown Elk City is the location of Parker Drilling Rig 114, a 55 meter high structure which is the city's most famous visual feature.
The Elk City livestock auction is perhaps the most essential remnant of Elk City's agricultural economy. For many of the region's ranchers, Elk City is still a key retail center, then again, agriculture is not nearly as important as in previous years. Wind farming has become increasingly vital ever since 2009 when Acciona Energy commissioned the first wind farm of Elk City, Red Hills Wind Farm located north of the city. The farm's 82 wind turbine generators generate enough power for 40,000 homes. Wind farming is expected to become a growing industry.