The Lakeview Gusher was an

eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are of ...

of hydrocarbons from a pressurized

oil well An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas ma ...

in the

Midway-Sunset Oil Field The Midway-Sunset Oil Field is a large oil field in Kern County, San Joaquin Valley, California in the United States. It is the largest known oilfield in California and the third largest in the United States. The field was discovered in 1894, ...

Kern County, California Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county ...

, in 1910. It created the largest accidental oil spill in history, lasting 18 months and releasing of crude oil. Midway-Sunset was one of the largest oil reserves in the United States. When drilling commenced, the Lakeview Oil Company expected

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

and a small amount of oil. Instead, there was a large blowout which overloaded storage tanks. The

geyser A geyser (, ) is a spring characterized by an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. As a fairly rare phenomenon, the formation of geysers is due to particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only ...

released more than of crude oil, far more than any other single leak on land or water. Its site is located about a half-mile (800 m) east of the Taft– Maricopa Highway, California Route 33, marked by a

Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacra ...

guide sign and a bronze plaque designated as California Historical Landmark number 485.

Background

The Lakeview Oil Company started drilling at its Number One well on 1 January 1909. Initially only natural gas was found. As work continued the company partnered with the

Union Oil Company Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...

, which wanted to build storage tanks there. Early twentieth-century drilling technology lacked such modern safety features as

blowout preventer A blowout preventer (BOP) (pronounced B-O-P, not "bop") is a specialized valve or similar mechanical device, used to seal, control and monitor oil and gas wells to prevent blowouts, the uncontrolled release of crude oil or natural gas from a ...

s. When drilling reached a well depth of on 15 March 1910, pressurized oil blew through the well casing above the bit. An estimated escaped before the gusher was brought under control in September 1911. The initial daily flow was , creating a river of crude that crews rushed to contain with improvised sand bag dams and dikes. Peak flow reached per day, diverted via a pipeline to storage tanks away, where an line led to Port Avila on the coast. In spite of these efforts, less than half of the 9.4 million barrels released during the gusher's 544 days were saved. The rest evaporated or seeped into the ground. The fact that the oil field never caught fire is considered a "miracle." File:Lakeview1Gusher4.jpg, River of crude contained by dikes File:Lakeview1Gusher5.jpg, A timber containment box was pulled over the gusher with heavy cables, soon destroyed by the oil's pressure File:Lakeview1Gusher.jpg, Gusher after the well had partially subsided, the derrick removed, and the well surrounded by a sandbag berm File:Lakeview Gusher OilStrata1910.JPG, Stratified, congealed crude oil from the gusher site. The March 2008 image shows an area about across.

California Historical Landmark

The California Historical Landmark plaque reads: :''NO. 485 LAKEVIEW GUSHER 1 - America's most spectacular gusher blew in here on March 14, 1910. Initially 18,000 barrels per day, the flow later reached an uncontrolled peak of 100,000 barrels per day, completely destroying the derrick. This Union Oil Company well produced nine million barrels of oil in 18 months.'' Marker date of registration August 7, 1951.Cal California parks Historical Landmarks
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References

External links

{{Commons category, Lakeview Gusher, position=left
The Lakeview Gusher site images
at The Center for Land Use Interpretation Oil spills in the United States 1910 in California History of Kern County, California Oil fields in Kern County, California Petroleum in California California Historical Landmarks 1910 in the environment

Background

California Historical Landmark

See also

References

External links