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All the United States California Maricopa Lakeview Gusher

Lakeview Gusher

Remnants of the United States's largest accidental oil spill still mar a California valley.

Maricopa, California

Added By
Michael Gebis
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The site today.   IvyMike / Atlas Obscura User
The site today.   IvyMike / Atlas Obscura User
The column of oil   Unknown
Stratified and oil-impregnated sand.   IvyMike / Atlas Obscura User
The gusher after the flow had subsided.   W.C. Mendenhall, US Geological Survey/public domain
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About

The evidence of a 100-year-old oil spill is still visible today. An oil well blowout in California's Central Valley disgorged a literal lake of oil big enough to launch rafts. It was the largest accidental oil spill in United States history.

In 1910, a down-on-his-luck Union Oil driller was assigned to drill a new well known as Lakeview No. 1. On March 15, 1910, the well struck oil, blowing the crown block off the top of the well and creating a flow of over 125,000 barrels a day.

Workers rushed to contain the oil, but the massive flow thwarted their initial efforts. Days turned into months. Eventually, in October of 1910, a series of berms and sandbags held back the oil. The oil continued to flow, though it was now contained, until finally coming to a stop on day 544. In the end, over 9.4 million barrels of oil were spilled into the desert.

Today, the site is a marked by a historical marker and the remains of the sand berm, still held together with stratified oil residue.

Related Tags

Oil Disasters Disaster Areas Pollution Deserts

Community Contributors

Added By

IvyMike

Published

July 8, 2019

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Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakeview_Gusher
  • http://www.sjvgeology.org/history/lakeview.html
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qFrwi4pnGg
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakeview_Gusher
  • https://www.thoughtco.com/lakeview-gusher-vs-bp-oil-spill-3978041
  • https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128983166
  • https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jun-13-la-me-then-20100613-story.html
  • https://noehill.com/kern/cal0485.asp
Lakeview Gusher
Maricopa, California
United States
35.091424, -119.401377

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of California

California

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Photo of California

California

United States

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