On April 20th, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon left 17 workers injured and 11 missing and presumed dead. Oil is spilling from a well 5000 feet below sea level, discharging 200,000 gallons of crude oil a day according to the official estimate. It is estimated that more than 6 million gallons of crude oil have spewed into the Gulf so far.
It is understandably difficult to imagine how large this spill actually is. The picture above shows the area the spill would cover if it had originated in Denver. It would stretch from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs and as far east as Hillrose. Want to see the spill size compared to you city? Check out Paul Rademacher’s website.
UPDATE: If It Was My Home also does a great job of mapping the spill and overlaying it onto your hometown