Deepwater Horizon fire

In September, Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig owned by Transocean and leased to BP, drilled the deepest oil well in history at a vertical depth of 35,050 feet. On April 20, an explosion left 11 crew members dead and unleashed a torrent of oil into the Gulf of Mexico that has since added up to many millions of gallons.

Since the explosion, BP and U.S. government agencies been struggling to contain and clean up the massive flow. Meanwhile, oil continues to gush. It has already devastated stretches of the Louisiana coast, threatening wildlife and livelihoods.

On Friday, BP CEO Tony Hayward acknowledged in an interview with CNN that the situation has become an "environmental crisis and catastrophe." Also on Friday, the company said that it is continuing with its "top kill" effort to try to stem the flow of oil, and Hayward said, "I think it's probably 48 hours before we'll have a conclusive view of this."

In this slideshow, CNET takes a look at efforts over the past five weeks to contain the disaster. In addition to the overall work to stop the flow itself, other efforts have included burning off oil, using chemical dispersants, and building booms and levees.