by Grist Photo: Transocean The Deepwater Horizon oil rig, owned by the Houston company Transocean, drilled the deepest oil well in history (35,050 feet) in September 2009 in the Gulf of Mexico. In January, the rig moved to a British Petroleum project 120 miles southeast of New Orleans. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard An explosion on the rig April 20 killed 11 workers and injured 17 others. Coast Guard and BP investigators are still searching for the cause. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard After a prolonged and unsuccessful effort to douse the fire, the remains of the rig sank to the ocean floor 5,000 feet below. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard A Coast Guard response team worked to clean up the surface spill on Earth Day, April 22, only to discover that the oil was leaking from the ocean floor. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard Within days the oil reaching the Gulf’s surface covered an area 600 miles in circumference, larger than Jamaica. On April 28 scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revised estimates for the amount of oil escaping the well head from 1,000 to 5,000 barrels a day. Photo:

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