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Environment
Environment Main Global Warming Natural Disasters Habitats FRESHWATER

Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill

A pool of saffron-colored oil paints swirls along Alaska's shoreline following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. Although it was not large compared to other spills, the Valdez oil spill was one of the world's most ecologically devastating disasters, spoiling more than 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) of shoreline, including three national parks, three national wildlife refuges, and one national forest.

Photograph by Ken Graham/Getty Images