LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A large puddle of tar … The surface would become covered with layers of water, leaves and dust onto which unsuspecting animals would walk on, become trapped and die. You’ll find all there is to see and do in our Guide to the La Brea Tar Pits. Pick up a La Brea Tar Pits Discovery Guide when you arrive so you don’t miss a thing. Yes, they are natural pits first recorded on paper in 1769 but were there even before; the pits caught all kinds of animals such as horses, cattle, dogs, camels, and even extinct animals like wooly mammoths! "There's a couple of sites that have barely been studied but would probably be as rich as the La Brea tar pits," Lindsey says. La Brea Tar Pits, tar (Spanish brea) pits, in Hancock Park (Rancho La Brea), Los Angeles, California, U.S. Natural asphalt (also called asphaltum, bitumen, pitch, or tar—brea in Spanish) has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. Outside, you can watch excavators carve fossils out of the asphalt. So when you say "the La Brea tar pits," you're really saying "The the tar tar pits." Hotels near La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Los Angeles on Tripadvisor: Find 18,000 traveler reviews, 50,193 candid photos, and prices for 30 hotels near La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles, CA. The asphalt seeps at La Brea Tar Pits are the only active urban fossil dig site in the world. Plants and animals from the last 50,000 years are discovered here every day. The Tar Pits are an indoor-outdoor experience. Not only can you see Ice Age Fossils on display, you can get up close to bubbling tar. Use up and down arrow keys to explore within a submenu. The La Brea Tar Pits is part of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County. Gaspar de Portolá’s expedition in 1769 explored the area, … Menu Navigation Tips. La Brea Tar Pits are a group of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed in urban Los Angeles. Here you will find a map to the entire park, where our live excavations are, and what you can explore inside the museum. Tar, Natural Gas Rises Up Onto Streets Near La Brea Tar Pits. Located in the heart of metropolitan Los Angeles, the La Brea Tar Pits are one of the world’s most famous fossil localities. Over the ages, the asphalt would form a deposit thick enough to trap animals. The fenced in sites where either active tar, excavation or water are free to view. For tens of thousands of years, tar has been seeping up in the ground here claiming the lives of poor, unknowing creatures and preserving them in wonderful condition for us to “enjoy” today. The area was the site of “pitch springs” oozing crude oil that was used by local Indians for waterproofing. La Brea Tar Pits are a group of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed in urban Los Angeles. Methane gas bubbling through the mire at the La Brea Tar Pits. Incredible as it may sound, they lie within a major metropolitan area in the United States. Filed Under: La Brea Tar Pits. THE NAME IS REDUNDANT. La Brea Tar Pits is a must see for anyone who it ticking off boxes of iconic LA sites. Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menus. "La Brea" in Spanish means "the tar." Venezuela has several tar pits, for instance, but because of the political situation, they haven't been as intensely studied. 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. It is so cool to see the tar pits still there today. 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 … The La Brea Tar Pits ranks as an extraordinary and unique geological feature. The following menu has 2 levels. Use enter to activate. To view the museum and the actual fossils you have to go inside and pay. They’re extremely hot and ooze black bubbles. Incredible as it may sound, they lie within a major metropolitan area in the United States. You can arrange photo opportunities through Magic Memories. Nestled within downtown Los Angeles is the natural wonder, the La Brea Tar Pits. 10. June 8, 2019 at 10:49 am. Your Museum Photos. The La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum is one of the coolest places to visit in Los Angeles.