BP oil spill likely to pass the Lakeview Gusher as the worst ever

The Lakeview Gusher, a 1910 disaster, is making headlines now because of the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010. The Lakeview Gusher, a California disaster of 100 years ago known now as the worst oil spill in U.S. history, will likely be dethroned by the BP oil spill, which shows no sign of being contained after 50 days. A century hence, the undersea gusher is overwhelming an oil spill cap on the oil spill live feed, which shows thousands of barrels a day still flowing to the sea.

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Lakeview Gusher: epic disaster

The Lakeview Gusher started when an oil well blew out near Maricopa, Calif. in March 1910 The Pasadena Star-News reports the Lakeview Gusher lasted 18 months and spilled 9 million barrels of oil–378 million gallons. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010 may have dumped up to 122 million gallons in 50 days. That figure could be much higher, according to some experts. The Lakeview Gusher blowout flowed at about 48,000 barrels a day. Estimates of the BP oil spill run as high as 72,000 barrels, or 3 million gallons a day.

Rivers and lakes of oil

Despite its spectacular blow-out, the Lakeview Gusher ended up as one of the most successful well ever in California.At the start the gusher spilled 18,000 barrels a day into the ground. Peak flow was estimated at 90,000 barrels a day. A 60-acre lake formed from a river of oil flowing downhill from the well.So much oil was recovered from the lake that William Rintoul in his book, “Drilling Through Time,” said it drove down the price of oil in 1910.

Oil spill live feed: cameras don't lie

The ruptured well's powerful jet of oil, as seen on the oil spill live feed, is overwhelming the oil spill cap, BP's latest effort to control the spill. BP claims the oil spill cap is a step forward in controlling the leak, but MSNBC reports that scientists viewing the oil spill live feed disagree. BP said about 15,000 barrels of oil were contained from the leak on Monday. Ira Leifer, a member of the Flow Rate Technical Group, a national panel of scientists and engineers tasked with determining the spill size, told MSNBC that the well may be gushing as much as 100,000 barrels a day.

BP oil spill underwater plumes

The New York Times reports that scientists have traced deep underwater plumes of oil carrying probably the most grave threat to undersea live ever seen. For two weeks researchers cruised the gulf, tracking one underwater plumes as large as 15 miles wide, 3 miles long and 600 feet thick, the Times said. The plume’s core is 1,100 to 1,300 meters below the surface. A dead zone with no undersea life could possibly be created as bacteria draw all the oxygen from the water as they break down the oil.

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