The LA BREA TAR PITS: A Journey to the Ice Age
Rock&Gem Magazine|April 2023
Los Angeles is the land of palm trees, movie stars, Malibu and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
AUDREY PAVIA
The LA BREA TAR PITS: A Journey to the Ice Age

But more surprisingly, the second largest city in the U.S. is home to the La Brea Tar Pits, the site of the largest collection of late Pleistocene asphaltic fossils in the world.

Located right in the middle of downtown L.A., among the freeways and skyscrapers, the La Brea Tar Pits is an active paleontological research site formed around a group of tar pits, where natural asphalt has been seeping up through the ground for tens of thousands of years. Over millennia, Ice Age animals became trapped in the sticky asphalt, which then preserved their bones as fossils.

The Tar Pits were first observed by European explorers in 1769, but were known to the Native peoples of Southern California for generations. The presence of fossils in the bubbling asphalt was not discovered until 1901 by a Union Oil geologist. When the significance of the pits was realized after years of fruitful excavation of fossils, the property's owner, George Allan Hancock, donated the land to the County of Los Angeles so it could be preserved. Excavation of the pits continued on and off through the early 20th century, and in 1977, the George C. Page Museum, which housed many of the pit fossils, was opened to the public. To date, millions of fossils are on display at the museum, which is now called the Page Museum and Tar Pits. Visitors can watch paleontologists work in the lab and get an up-close look at the research being performed.

DEADLY TAR

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 2023-Ausgabe von Rock&Gem Magazine.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 2023-Ausgabe von Rock&Gem Magazine.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS ROCK&GEM MAGAZINEAlle anzeigen
Rockhounding Ohio's Lake Erie Islands
Rock&Gem Magazine

Rockhounding Ohio's Lake Erie Islands

A short ferry boat ride three miles from Ohio’s Lake Erie coastline is South Bass Island, better known as Put-in-Bay or the “Key West of the North.”

time-read
4 Minuten  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Iowa's Hidden Treasures
Rock&Gem Magazine

Iowa's Hidden Treasures

Exploring Keokuk Geodes: How They're Made & What's Inside

time-read
5 Minuten  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Agatized CORAL
Rock&Gem Magazine

Agatized CORAL

Florida's Collectible State Stone

time-read
3 Minuten  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Rockhounding Florida's Beaches
Rock&Gem Magazine

Rockhounding Florida's Beaches

Beachcombing serene stretches of Florida can reveal fascinating finds like fossilized shark teeth, sea glass, quartz, agate and even coral fragments.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Collecting Staurolite
Rock&Gem Magazine

Collecting Staurolite

Hot Spots In Virginia & Georgia

time-read
3 Minuten  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Pecos Valley Diamonds
Rock&Gem Magazine

Pecos Valley Diamonds

New Mexico's Ancient Attraction

time-read
4 Minuten  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
12 Tips for Rockhounding Tucson's Greatest Shows
Rock&Gem Magazine

12 Tips for Rockhounding Tucson's Greatest Shows

Tucson in February becomes the international hub for buying and selling colored gems, rocks, minerals and fossils.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Turquoise in the American Southwest
Rock&Gem Magazine

Turquoise in the American Southwest

A Water & Sky Souvenir

time-read
4 Minuten  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Touring Colorado's MINERAL BELT
Rock&Gem Magazine

Touring Colorado's MINERAL BELT

It's a Showcase of Mining History & Minerals

time-read
6 Minuten  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Geology &Colorado's Taurish Traiks
Rock&Gem Magazine

Geology &Colorado's Taurish Traiks

Most of Colorado’s tourist trains today were originally constructed in the late 1800s to serve the state’s lucrative mining operations.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024