Thirty years ago today, the largest oil tanker spill in US history occurred here in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Nearly 11 million gallons of oil flowed into the once-pristine waters when the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck Bligh Reef. The area is so remote that cleanup efforts were delayed, allowing 1,300 miles of shoreline to be contaminated. The US Fish & Wildlife Service estimates that among other casualties, more than 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, and 22 orcas were lost. The spill, while devastating, has provided a living laboratory as scientists study how the ecosystem recovers—and doesn’t. Some species and their habitat are still impacted by the spill. There is at least one highlight: Government agencies say the sea otter population here has fully recovered; however, the local subspecies as a whole remains endangered.
30 years after Exxon Valdez
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
The smoke before the bonfire
-
Museum Night in Berlin
-
Keep calm and drive on (slowly)
-
Embracing the cold
-
Staircase of turquoise pools
-
The ‘Living Forest’ in Biscay, Spain
-
Sweetheart Abbey, Scotland
-
Does this shark have an Irish accent?
-
Russell lupines, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
-
The Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic
-
Groundhog Day
-
Happy Star Wars Day!
-
Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii
-
Hoisting a flag for seafarers
-
National Park Week: Haleakalā National Park, Hawaii
-
Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
-
Presidents Day
-
A giant relic in Java
-
Father s Day
-
Here’s looking at you, teachers
-
Caribou on the move
-
Tracking ships on the Day of the Seafarer
-
Finding a balance between wetlands and water treatment
-
Alpine marmots at Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria
-
Birds of a feather
-
Pasadena Chalk Festival supports local arts education
-
Diving into the underwater nirvana
-
A center of antiquity on the Mediterranean
-
Hohenzollern Castle near Stuttgart, Germany
-
A national icon