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1964. Small tar pit. 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 Woman
La Brea Woman was a human whose remains were found in the La...
- Carpinteria Tar Pits
The Carpinteria Tar Pits are located in the southeastern...
- McKittrick Tar Pits
The pits are the most extensive asphalt lakes in the state....
- Saber-Toothed Cat
The abundance of Smilodon skeletons in the La Brea tar pits...
- American Lion
Panthera atrox, better known as the American lion, also...
- Binagadi Asphalt Lake
Skeleton of Rhinoceros binagadiensis (Pleistocene), which...
- Salt Lake Oil Field
The field is also notable as being the source, by long-term...
- Dire Wolves
The dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus / iː ˈ n ɒ s aɪ. ɒ n ˈ d aɪ r...
- Tar Pit
In the La Brea Tar Pits, more than one million bones have...
- La Brea Woman
Feb 27, 2024 · 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 acres (8 hectares).
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The tar pit fossils bear eloquent witness to life in southern California from 40,000 to 8,000 years ago; aside from vertebrates, they include plants, mollusks, and insects — over 660 species of organisms in all. This photo from Rancho La Brea appeared in the November 9, 1911, Memoirs of the University of California.
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A skull and partial skeleton commonly known as the La Brea Woman . The remains of a woman between 18 and 24 years old who died of a fractured skull. This skeleton represents the only known human remains from the tar pits. She was found alongside a grinding stone and may have been buried in the tar.
The La Brea tar pits (or Rancho La Brea) are a famous cluster of tar pits in central Los Angeles. Complete skeletons of many thousands of large animals have been found here. They date mostly from 40,000 to 8,000 years ago. Hancock Park was formed around the tar pits, in the heart of Los Angeles. Asphalt or tar ( brea in Spanish) has seeped up ...
La Brea Tar Pits History. Located in the heart of L.A., La Brea Tar Pits are one of the world’s most famous fossil localities, where more than 100 excavations have been made! It’s a fascinating piece of land. Over time, this area has been ancient forest and savannah, ranch land and oilfield, Mexican land grant, and Los Angeles County Park.
