Discovery of Spindletop Gusher

Date: January 10, 1901 • Location: Central Gardens, United States

The first great gusher of the Texas oil boom was discovered in the Spindletop oil field near Beaumont.

A blowout is the uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas from an oil well or gas well after pressure control systems have failed. Modern wells have blowout preventers intended to prevent such an occurrence. An accidental spark during a blowout can lead to a catastrophic oil or gas fire.