Ixtoc I oil spill

1979 CE.

Shown on the map at 19.414°, -92.331°.

Ixtoc I was an exploratory oil well being drilled by the semi-submersible drilling rig Sedco 135 in the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico, about 100 km (62 mi) northwest of Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche in waters 50 m (164 ft) deep. On 3 June 1979, Ixtoc I suffered a well blowout resulting in the largest oil spill in history at its time. To-date, it remains the second largest marine oil spill in history after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Text from the Wikipedia article Ixtoc I oil spill, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Everything else in 1979 CE

HistoryLayer draws the world as it was in any year from 123,000 BCE to 2026. Move the slider and the borders redraw for that year; the map carries 23,890 events, 12,790 people, 837 wars and 13,183 cities, each one readable in place. Signing in is optional and lets you keep what you find.

HistoryLayer
1914CE
World Wars
123,000 BCE2026 CE
54 stops — one per surviving map on file, evenly spaced drag the pin · ←→ steps one stop the same 54 stops by true elapsed time ↑
Map & filters
Show on the map
Filter
Colour by
Polity Empire