Santa Barbara oil spill occurred in January and February 1969 in the Santa Barbara Channel , near the city of Santa Barbara in Southern California . It was the largest oil spill in United States waters by that time , and now ranks third after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon and 1989 Exxon Valdez spills . It remains the largest oil spill to have occurred in the waters off California
Deepwater Horizon
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
1969 Santa Barbara oil spill