Oil Spill Facts

The Exxon Valdez oil spill was one of the most publicized and studied environmental tragedies in history. This site provides both general and highly specific information about the spill and its aftermath, organized in the following way:

Q and A
A list of commonly asked questions and their answers. This is the best place to start research about the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Spill Map
See a map of the area affected by the spill and when oil arrived at various locations in the spill region.

Spill Photos
View our gallery of free public access photos of the oil spill and the cleanup effort.

Details about the Accident
View a detailed excerpt published by the State of Alaska documenting exactly what went wrong.

Lingering Oil
Is there still oil from the Exxon Valdez on the beaches of the spill area? See what researchers have discovered.

Settlement
Learn about the settlement reached between the governments and Exxon, Inc. The documents themselves can be downloaded from this page.

Restoration Plan
So what did the governments do with the money from Exxon? Read about how the money was allocated and view a detailed spending plan.

Status of Injured Resources
How are the injured resources and species doing now? Each species or resource has a detailed page about its current status.

Spill Prevention and Response
Find out what has been done to ensure that another Exxon Valdez oil spill can never happen again.

Bibliographies
Download topical bibliographies of publications that have been written about the Exxon Valdez oil spill. These were compiled by Alaska Resources Library and Information Services (ARLIS).