The La Brea Tar Pits
The La Brea Tar Pits offer a glimpse
of what Los Angeles was like at the end of the Ice Age, 40,000 to
100,000 years ago.
Saber-toothed tigers and woolly mammoths lived in the area and were
trapped in the pools of
tar. Within the 23
acres of Hancock Park, there are more than 100 tar pits—areas where
crude oil seeps to the
surface. The lighter
part of the oil evaporates and asphalt is
left. As you walk
through the park, look for small areas surrounded by short
fences. These are some
of the smaller tar pits and you will be able to walk right up to
them.
Since excavation began in 1906, more
that one million bones have been recovered, representing more than
230 species of
vertebrates. 159 kinds
of plants and 234 kinds of invertebrates have been
identified. Because
the asphalt relatively quickly covers the items, the condition of
the bones is excellent.
Located throughout the park are
full-size replicas of Ice Age animals---giant sloths, a prehistoric
bear, and fighting saber-tooth
cats. A family of
mammoths, getting entrapped in the tar lake can easily be seen from
Wilshire Blvd.
Located in the center of the Park,
the Page Museum is
the home of the largest collection of Ice Age plants and
animals. You can watch
bones being cleaned and
repaired. There is no
fee charged for the museum on the first Tuesday of each
month.
This block is not only the home of
tigers and mammoths, but also the Los Angeles County Museum of
Art.
Check these links for more
information on the La Brea Tar Pits:
Page
Museum
UC Berkeley
USGS
You are within 75 feet of Team
Perks' cache, That Sinking Feeling
(
GCPF6N) so be sure to go find it also. In the
several days it took to get this EarthCache approved, Team Perks
decided that the Tar Pits also needed a cache. Both caches
were approved on the same day.
