Exxon Valdez

March 24, 1989 - It was just 4 minutes into this day when the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The resulting spill would dump 750,000 barrels of crude oil into the pristine ecosystem.

1,300 miles of coastline were drenched in oil. Estimates are that as many 250,000 sea birds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 247 bald eagles and billions of salmon eggs were killed.