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Ironically, the worst environmental disaster in history was an oil spill that doesn't even rank among the top 50 largest oil spills [source: Lovgren]. Yet the Exxon Valdez oil spill is widely considered to be the most disastrous oil spill in the world in terms of its environmental impact [source: Exxon]. The 11 million gallons (or 257,000 barrels) of oil that eventually escaped from the tanker's hull continue to affect the surrounding area [source: Lovgren]. As soon as the ship hit Bligh Reef, the Alaskan body of water known as Prince William Sound became forever changed.

Exxon Valdez oil tanker left Alaska on March 23, 1989, at 9:12 p.m. carrying more than 53 million gallons (1.26 million barrels) of oil. Just three hours later, after the ship ran into a reef, thousands of gallons of oil coated everything within site. All told, the amount of oil spilled was enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool 125 times

The Number One Environmental Disaster: Exxon Valdez