On the evening of April 20, 2010, the floating Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico along the Louisiana Coast. Obviously, much has been written about this environmental disaster. I will refer you to the Wiki page linked at the bottom of this page. My newspaper, The Advocate, assigned me to cover the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, off and on, beginning May 1. Below are a collection of images from the aftermath of this tragic event.
Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon – Shot 5/1/10 00021538A Erica Miller, left, a wildlife veterinarian with Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, and Baton Rouge native now living in Alaska, Heather Nevill with the International Research Rescue Center, prepare to feed a 4.9-pound Northern Gannet an electrolyte solution at Ford Jackson in Plaquemines Parish Saturday. The bird, the only bird the facility has handled to date, was rescued from oily water Friday, May 1, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
With a view of oil rigs to their left, nine Brown Pelicans fly above miles of deployed snare boom on Fourchon Beach Saturday, May 22, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Oil spill responders, including Phillip Taylor of New Orleans, right, contracted by TAS Environmental Services L.P. of Fort Worth, Tex. roll out miles of snare boom along Fourchon Beach in Lafourche Parish Saturday, on Sunday, May 22, 2010. Oil could be seen up and down their work area. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Oil washed up onto Fourchon Beach and Grand Isle on Saturday, May 22, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Oil coats sections of the beach along Grand Isle Beach, Sunday, May 23, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Oil coats a containment boom off Queen Bess Island north of Grand Isle Wednesday, May 26, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Workers suit up to clean up oil along Grand Isle Sunday, May 23, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Oil spill cleanup workers are decontaminated as they strip out of their one-time-use protective suits inside the ‘hot zone’ along the beach at Elmer’s Island on Thursday, May 27, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Pools of oil coat sections of Fourchon Beach in Lafourche Parish Saturday, May 22, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
A shrimp boat based out of Empire skims oil north of Coup Abel Pass Sunday, May 23, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Saturated oil boom hangs from a shrimp boat north of Coup Abel Pass on Sunday, May 23, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Richard Bergeron, left, and Jonathan Atkins, both of Grand Isle, work to haul in saturated oil absorbent boom onto their shrimp boat Sunday, May 23, 2010 north of Coup Abel Pass near Grand Isle. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Richard Bergeron, left, and Jonathan Atkins, both of Grand Isle, work to haul in saturated oil-absorbent boom onto their shrimp boat Sunday, May 23, 2010, north of Coup Abel Pass near Grand Isle. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Absorbent and containment booms overlap one another as the last defense against the ongoing oil spill for Queen Bess Island north of Grand Isle Wednesday, May 26, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
A crab gingerly walks toward washed-up oil along the beach at Grand Isle State Park Sunday, May 23, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries fisheries biologist Suzy Delaune, left, and Mandy Tumlin, conservation biologist for marine mammals and sea turtles, obtain field samples from a severely decomposed Bottlenose dolphin on Queen Bess Island north of Grand Isle, May 26, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Oil is seen on Queen Bess Island north of Grand Isle Wednesday, May 26, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
A Brown Pelican takes flight near a containment boom that has washed ashore on Queen Bess Island north of Grand Isle Wednesday. May 26, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
A severely decomposed 91-inch Bottlenose dolphin lies next to a beached containment boom on Queen Bess Island north of Grand Isle Wednesday, May 26, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Oil spill cleanup workers contracted through BP, including John Carter, left, and ‘Spider’ Probst, shovel oil-laden sand into bags along Grand Isle Beach Sunday, May 23, 2010. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon 
Members of the Louisiana National Guard’s 1022nd Engineer Company out of Bossier City, West Monroe and Rustin work to deploy seven miles of Tiger Dam along the beach at Grand Isle Thursday, May 27, 2010. Since the April 20th Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, 18.6-29 million gallons of oil have been spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, washing up on over 100 miles of Louisiana’s shoreline. Advocate staff photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Further Reading
Read the Wikipedia page for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill here.