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4 unusual facts about Pitch Lake


A. P. T. James

In 1919 James left Tobago for Trinidad, where he worked in the oil fields and later as a stevedore, working for Brighton Lake Asphalt, which produced and exported asphalt from the Pitch Lake in La Brea.

Carpinteria Tar Pits

The Carpinteria Tar Pits are one of the five natural asphalt lake areas in the world, the others being Tierra de Brea in Trinidad and Tobago, Lake Guanoco in Venezuela and the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits (Los Angeles) and McKittrick Tar Pits (McKittrick) both also located in the US state of California.

Mangrove oyster

Sir Walter Raleigh, as part of an expedition to Guyana, famously encountered the mangrove oyster near Pitch Lake during his stopover in Trinidad.

McKittrick Tar Pits

The McKittrick Tar Pits are one of the five natural asphalt lake areas in the world, the others being Tierra de Brea in Trinidad and Tobago, Lake Guanoco in Venezuela and the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits (Los Angeles) and Carpinteria Tar Pits (Carpinteria) both also located in the US state of California.


Lake Bermudez

Lake Guanoco is one of the five natural asphalt lake areas in the world, the others being Tierra de Brea in Trinidad and Tobago and Rancho La Brea (Los Angeles), McKittrick Tar Pits (McKittrick) and Carpinteria Tar Pits (Carpinteria) all located in the US state of California.


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