Thirty years ago, on March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska. At the time, it was the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Only the 2010 Deep Water Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has eclipsed it.
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, March 24, 1989
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FILE - An oil covered bird is examined on an island in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in April 1989. A massive oil-slick resulted after the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground about 25 miles from Valdez, Alaska.
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FILE - People in Kodiak carry signs to protest the Exxon oil spill in Anchorage, Alaska, May 27, 1989.
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FILE - Crews use high-pressure hoses to blast the oil off rocks on this beach front on Naked Island, Alaska, April 21, 1989. This is one of two beaches that are being worked on, out of 58 beaches in the Prince William Sound.
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FILE - The Exxon Valdez is pictured being towed out of Prince William Sound in Alaska by a tug boat and a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, June 23, 1989.