On 24 March, 1989 an oil tanker ran aground in the pristine waters of Prince William Sound in the Gulf of Alaska, dumping 11 million gallons of crude oil. The spillage affected 11,000 square miles of sea, killing thousands of marine mammals and sea birds, and had a devastating impact across the 1,300-mile of shoreline. Twenty-five years on it remains one of the worst environmental disasters of all time
Clouds hover over snowy peaks near Prince Willam Sound, Valdez, Alaska. Twenty-five years after the Exxon Valdez supertanker split open on a submerged reef and spilled 11 millions gallons of crude oil on 24 March, 1989, legal fights continue. Experts thought the crude would be gone by 1995 but oil still clings to rocks on once-pristine beaches. Photograph: David McNew/Getty Images
Staining the vista of the Chugach Mountains, the Exxon Valdez lies atop Bligh Reef two days after the grounding, in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Southbound from the trans-Alaska pipeline terminal at Valdez, the ship had met disaster after 28 miles, outside normal shipping lanes, with the captain absent from the bridge. Photograph: Natalie B Fobes/NG/Getty Images
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration nautical chart of Prince William Sound showing clearly the entry and exit routes. On the top-right is Valdez port, from where the tanker left, but instead of sticking to the exit route, it entered the entry route – the wrong shipping lane – and ran aground on shallow waters on Bligh Reef, near Bligh Island (middle bottom). Photograph: NOAA
An aerial photograph showing Valdez, harbour, and Alyeska terminal, Prince William Sound. Valdez town is on right, in background of airport. Trans Alaska pipeline and Valdez port are on the left. Photograph: Arlis
Oily rocks glisten in the sun on Green lsland, Prince William Sound. This section of beach was signed off as being environmentally stable by both Exxon and the US Coast Guard, but got re-oiled in July, 1989. Photograph: Arlis
Oil leaches off an island beach in the Gulf of Alaska weeks after the Exxon Valdez incident. Photograph: Natalie Fobes/Corbis
Pools of oil on the beach. Photograph: Bud Ehler/Arlis
A cormorant soaked in oil from the Exxon Valdez oil spill sits on the beach of Green Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Photograph: Bob Hallinen/Getty Images
A sea otter tries to shake the oil off on the rocky shore of Knights Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Photograph: Gary Braasch/Corbis
A modified C130 plane sprays dispersant on the Exxon Valdez oil spill area of the sea in the Gulf of Alaska. Photograph: Natalie Fobes/NG/Corbis
An aerial shot of the the stretch of shoreline on Knight Island affected by the oil spill. Photograph: Arlis
Exxon Valdez oil spill workers use pressure washers to wash oil from the beach at Smith Island on Prince William Sound in Alaska. Photograph: Bob Hallinen/Getty Images
An aerial photograph of a maxi-barge and spill workers cleaning beach during Corexit testing at Quayle Beach, Smith Island. Photograph: Arlis
Workers spray hot water on oil-covered beaches in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Photograph: Natalie Fobes/NG/Corbis
A beach cleaning operation in Prince William Sound. Photograph: Bud Ehler/Arlis
An oil impacted beach with rock washer platform built by volunteer workers from the Homer Area Recovery Coalition, Mars Cove, Port Dick, Gulf of Alaska. Photograph: Arlis
Spill workers and maxi-barge hose the beach after Corexit test at Quayle Beach, Smith Island. Photograph: Arlis
A volunteer uses paper towels and spoons to wipe oil off her beach at Larsen Bay, Kodiak Island. Photograph: Natalie Fobes/NG/Corbis
Seafood processors from Valdez picket at Exxon's headquarters to protest against shortage of work due to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Photograph: Arlis
An oil-stained dead eagle lies on the shore. Photograph: John Lyle/Arlis
An oily patch by seaweed on Prince William Sound. Photograph: Karen Kasmauski/Corbis 
Oil-soaked sea otters, five adults and a baby, lie dead on Green Island. Photograph: Chris Wilkins/AFP/Getty Images
Researchers catch sea otters in Short Arm Bay in the Bay of Isles on Knight Island, the epicenter of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The data is used to estimate the impact of the oil spill on the sea otter population. Photograph: Karen Kasmauski/Corbis 
Scientists perform an autopsy on a grey whale stranded on the shore of Kodiak Island, Alaska. Photograph: Natalie Fobes/NG/Corbis
Rocks on an island in Prince William Sound still carried traces of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, 10 years after the incident in 1998. Photograph: Karen Kasmauski/Corbis
