Prompt Cast
The Catastrophic Mistake that Turned a Freshwater Lake into a Saltwater Whirlpool
TLDR A Texaco engineer's drilling mistake in Lake Peigneur caused a massive whirlpool, collapsing a salt mine and sucking in the Gulf of Mexico and 11 barges. The lake transformed from freshwater to saltwater, but miraculously, no one was seriously injured.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
In 1980, Texaco contractors were doing exploratory drilling in Lake Peigneur, which was a large but shallow lake sitting on top of a salt dome.
02:25
Texaco contractors drilling in Lake Peigneur for gas deposits caused their drill to get stuck and eventually sink, taking a $5 million rig with it.
04:34
Contractors accidentally drilled into a salt mine, creating a massive whirlpool in Lake Peigneur and causing a salt mine to collapse.
06:49
As the water from the lake flooded upward towards the bottom of the lake, the miners were trying to escape the high water blocking their route.
09:20
As the miners slowly come up to the surface, a huge hole has opened up where the whirlpool was, sucking in the Gulf of Mexico and 11 barges, along with other structures, into Lake Peigneur.
11:33
Lake Peigneur went from being a freshwater lake to a saltwater lake and increased in depth from a few feet to about 200 feet, but miraculously, no one lost their life or was seriously injured in the disaster.
13:42
Lake Peigneur grew not only in depth but in size, becoming a brackish saline lake with houses still visible above the surface, all because of a Texaco engineer's mistake in drilling.
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Society & Culture
