A geyser characteristically has an eruption of water, where far beneath the water is in contact with hot rocks, which heats up the water, and from there the pressure builds to cause a burst and explosion of water. Generally yes, a geyser refers to water which can’t do much damage, but when said geyser is a pressurized oil well and has oil spurting out, Houston we have a problem.
On this day March 14th, in 1910, the Lakeview Gusher erupted and began releasing its crude oil into the environment. The oil well is located in Kern County, California, a southern California inland city. When drilling began, spectators expected to find a large quantity of natural gas and a small amount of crude oil, but oh were they surprised.
The gusher released more than 9 million barrels, weighing in at 1.2 million tons, of crude oil. What happened that caused this is known as a blowout. In more modern times a device called a blowout preventer would stop the gusher. These reservoirs of crude oil are incredibly pressurized, as it is heated and there’s gas flowing about, which expands with heat, and an already large quantity of mass in a tiny place, and thus without control pressure oil spills like these would continue to occur. The Lakeview Gusher is believed to be the largest gusher in U.S. history.