The Pipeline

If you were ever wondering where a lot of (all) the oil the U.S. likes to hoard comes from, well here you go... It all begins in Prudhoe Bay, on Alaska's northern slope where the largest oil field in North America is located. It spans a wide 15 miles by 40 miles. The oil is sent through a pipe, which travels 800 miles from the north slope to Valdez, Alaska. Not only does it travel 800 miles, it crosses 3 mountain ranges, 34 major rivers and 800 smaller rivers. Pretty neat, huh!?!?!


Last weekend a friend of mine, Alex, and I wanted to get out of town, so we cruised a couple miles north and stumbled upon the pipeline. The pipeline travels above ground, as well as, below and the pipes have a diameter of 48''. Here's the pipeline: 


If you can click on this picture to enlarge it you should read the pipeline history and stats: