It took place 100 years ago and was much bigger than the current BP spill [though it still needs to be totally played out.] It is known as the “The Lakeview Gusher” and began in 1910 when an oil line in California failed and exploded releasing a geyser of 90-100,000 barrels of oil a day and lasted for a year. Drilling at the depth of over 2,225 feet an explosion occurred and the well erupted.
For more information here is a great news report from CNN:
This post on the oil spill brought to my memory the great Boston molasses disaster of January 1919. A good description of the incident can be found in the book 1919 Savage Peace by Anne Hegedorn. At the time Molasses was the standard sweetener. In the United stated. It was also used in munitions, and producing alcohol. A tank owned by Purity Distilling Company holding 2.5 million gallons of crude Molasses. Around noon time the rivets of the tank let go. And the Molasses spilled out onto the street. Moving ar 35 miles per hour with a wave height of between 8 to 15 feet it swept away cars ripped houses off their foundation and bent a girder holding up a train. Several city blocks were under 2 feet of molasses. Casualties were 159 people hospitalized and 21 people killed by the event. There were lots of accusations about the cause. The company said sabotage, others said negligence. It was decided that the tank was overfilled. The company rather then maintaining the integrity of the Tank would each year paint it brown to cover the weakening rivets and weakened metal. That summer people in the area said they could still smell the molasses and it triggered an infestation of bugs,