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The La Brea Tar Pits is an active paleontological research site in urban Los Angeles. Hancock Park was formed around a group of tar pits where natural asphalt (also called asphaltum, bitumen, or pitch; brea in Spanish) has seeped up from the ground for tens of thousands of years.
La Brea Tar Pits. Step into an Ice Age adventure. Unearth mysteries deep beneath your feet, witness fossil discoveries, and explore exhibits of mammoth proportions. Dive into a unique journey through time, as you investigate the science and history preserved by the Tar Pits.
The Tar Pits have fascinated scientists and visitors for over a century, and today, this area is the only actively excavated Ice Age fossil site found in an urban location in the world! Over the last 50,000 years, Ice Age animals, plants, and insects were trapped in sticky asphalt, which preserved them for us to find today.
Open Today: 9:30 am to 5 pm. 5801 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036. 213.763.3499. Plan your visit to La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Get tickets for admission, exhibits, 3D movies and films, shows and tours.
La Brea Tar Pits, tar (Spanish brea) pits, in Hancock Park (Rancho La Brea), Los Angeles, California, U.S. The area was the site of “pitch springs” oozing crude oil that was used by local Indians for waterproofing. Gaspar de Portolá’s expedition in 1769 explored the area, which encompasses about 20.
For these are the La Brea tar pits, containing one of the richest, best preserved, and best studied assemblages of Pleistocene vertebrates, including at least 59 species of mammal and over 135 species of bird.
Make no bones about it, La Brea Tar Pits is integral to the history of Los Angeles. Asphalt mined from the Tar Pits was used to pave L.A.’s streets, and excavations have been underway for more than one hundred years.
La Brea Tar Pits have been identified by IUGS as the richest Pleistocene (“Ice Age”) fossil site on Earth, and as the key paleontological site that has shaped the understanding of this time period for both scientists and the public.
Located in the heart of metropolitan Los Angeles, the La Brea Tar Pits are one of the world’s most famous fossil localities. Explore the world’s only active, urban Ice Age excavation site.
A list of prehistoric and extinct species whose fossils have been found in the La Brea Tar Pits, located in present-day Hancock Park, a city park on the Miracle Mile section of the Mid-Wilshire district in Los Angeles, California.
