the past 3 weeks had been so tiring and draining for me:( im so glad my internship days are finally over - for good;) now i can enjoy my holidays (albeit only 2 weeks left) again!
la brea tar pits is located in the miracle mile/musuem square district in LA, which as its name suggests, is home to many musuems! the la brea tar pits is located in the rancho la brea area, where asphalt (the sticky and black semi-solid/liquid substance in crude oil) has been seeping out of the ground for the past 40,000 years (up till today!)!
the la brea tar pits is located in the hancock park..
the lake pit in the hancock park - which used to be an abandoned quarry (where asphalt was mined during the 19th century). it is now filled with rain water and the seepage of groundwater. while the lake pit is beautified with life-sized fiberglass models of the columbian mammoths, the yucky terrible smell of tar permeates the air around it!
it was quite amazing to see so many bubbles of natural gas (methane) continuously escaping through the fissures of the lake! the production of methane is apparently due to the breaking down of asphalt by microbes in the lake pit. this phenomenon has excited scientists who are trying to find ways to utilize these microbes to clear oil spills.
asphalt seeping out from the ground EVERYWHERE!!
including various parts of the hancock park - these areas where asphalt seep out of the ground, have to be enclosed by barricades - for safety purposes!
but there are just too many of these areas to be taken care of - as such, there are many small areas that are left as that.
the easy access to asphalt has motivated the public to display their "artistic talents" by using asphalt to draw graffiti on this tree..
one of the six excavation pits in hancock park - where asphalt has been excavated by scientists, for research purposes. asphalt is so highly valued by scientists because they contain (and preserve) the fossilized remains of a great variety of plant fragments and ancient mammals. apparently, the evidence is so extensive and complete enough, that scientists are able to reconstruct the environment that existed in the la brea rancho 12,000-40,000 years ago.
bubbles of methane gas were discernible in the excavation pits as well!
pit 91 - started in 1969, this is the longest on-going urban paleontological excavation site in the world. but it sure looks very dirty?! it is interesting how the excavations are only conducted during the summer months from early july until the beginning of september every year! the volunteer guide told us that there are really too much fossilized remains to be excavated - so they can really afford to take their own sweet time?!
the observation pit - where the public can be up close and personal with an excavated pit. the scientists have also duly identified the different fossils.
the entrance to the page musuem at the la brea tar pits, is graced by 4 sabre-toothed tigers in action.
skeletons (of mammals) galore!
of which even the most massive mammals
would be reduced to this..
the most common fossils found in the la brea rancho is the dire wolf specie - in order to accommodate most of their fossilized remains, only their skulls are represented in the musuem display..
on-going research done at the world famous "fishbowl" laboratory inside the museum - where visitors can see the scientists and volunteers clean, examine, restore and catalog the fossils after they have been excavated from the asphalt.
vistors were also able to experience how difficult it is to get out of an asphalt tar pit, when you get stuck in it - by pulling a pole from an asphalt pool. it seriously requires a lot of strength! that is probably the reason why so many fossilized remains are present in the asphalt. many wandering animals (in the past - and even now) would unknowingly venture onto the abundant asphalt pools in the la brea rancho - and would often find themselves trapped, to die inside it.
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