Quick Clips: Map Puts Oil Spill in Perspective

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Paul Rademacher provides maps of the spill that will likely make your brain hurt.

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On April 20, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon left 17 workers injured and 11 missing and presumed dead. Oil is spilling from a well 5,000 feet below sea level, discharging 200,000 gallons of crude oil a day, according to the official estimate (though over 2 million a day, by private estimates).

The spill covers at least 2,500 square miles of ocean surface. You can see the extent of the damage here, as of May 6, just southeast of New Orleans.

But how big is the spill, really? It's hard to get a sense of the true size when it's over the ocean floor. Use the links below to see how large the spill is.

Click here to check out spill maps

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