The
Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in
Prince William Sound,
Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when
Exxon Valdez, an
oil tanker bound for
Long Beach, California, struck
Prince William Sound's
Bligh Reef at 12:04 am local time and
spilled of
crude oil over the next few days. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused
environmental disasters. The
Valdez spill was the largest in US waters until the 2010
Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in terms of volume released. However, Prince William Sound's remote location, accessible only by helicopter, plane, or boat, made government and industry response efforts difficult and severely taxed existing plans for response. The region is a
habitat for
salmon,
sea otters,
seals and
seabirds. The oil, originally extracted at the
Prudhoe Bay oil field, eventually covered of coastline, and of ocean.