What major environmental disaster occurred in California in the late 1960s?

The correct answer is the Santa Barbara oil spill, which occurred in 1969. This disaster involved the blowout of an offshore oil platform near Santa Barbara, leading to a massive oil spill that released about 3 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean. The spill caused significant environmental damage, affecting marine life and coastal ecosystems, and drew national attention to the issue of oil drilling and its environmental impact.

The Santa Barbara oil spill played a pivotal role in shaping public awareness and policy regarding environmental protection, leading to the rise of the modern environmental movement in the United States. It prompted the establishment of various environmental regulations and organizations aimed at preventing similar disasters in the future.

While the San Francisco earthquakes indeed represent a significant event in California's history, they are not associated with the late 1960s. The Los Angeles smog crisis refers to persistent air pollution issues that developed over several decades, with significant public awareness rising in the 1950s and 1960s, but it did not culminate in a single catastrophic event at that time. The Great Flood of 1969 refers to significant weather events, but it does not have the same level of historical impact and awareness tied to it as the Santa Barbara oil spill did.