Area


Picture used with permission by http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/

 

The oil spilled in the Prince William Sound area (to be exact the oil spilled in areas of Block Island, Cordova, Green Island, Kodiak, Sawmill bay, Valdez, and Smith Island.) harming many animals and land in the process. A 1989--90 survey of nearly 5,000 miles of shoreline documented oil on approximately 1,300 miles of beach oil was heavy, medium on 200 miles of shoreline.1,100 were thought to have light or very light oiling. In 1993 they found hundreds of sites that contained oil deposits.

Oil from the Exxon Valdez penetrated deeply into cobble and boulder beaches.They are common on the shorelines throughout the area oil spilled. Cleaning and natural degradation removed much of the oil from the cobble and boulder beaches.

Oil on some of the beaches are a serious concern for residents of the Prince William Sound who use the area for hunting, fishing, and gathering. Subsistence activities continue for people of the sound, but they don't usually use areas that contain oil.

Click here to view a map of the oil spill and the time it took to spread!!

 

 

Home

Animals