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:
-
Mangrove Conservation Day
-
The smoke before the bonfire
-
It s leap day!
-
Shark Fin Cove, California
-
Indigo bunting
-
Borrego Badlands
-
Paradise, found
-
International Day of Peace
-
The long and wiggling path
-
A bridge of Madison County
-
National Llama Day
-
Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona
-
Oktoberfest begins
-
Total solar eclipse
-
Across the great plains of Africa
-
Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta
-
National Roller Coaster Day
-
Travel Sunday: On the Ganges in Varanasi, India
-
Adorable activism
-
World Wildlife Day
-
Hooray, hooray, it s Unicorn Day!
-
Things are looking up
-
Glenfinnan Viaduct
-
It’s National Dolphin Day!
-
Life in the slow lane
-
Land ho in New Zealand 250 years ago
-
Falling for the Canadian Rockies
-
Skógafoss waterfall, Iceland
-
Inhale and exhale, it’s Yoga Day
-
Dancers perform ‘Revelations’