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La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles CA
Long before Hollywood, Los Angeles had its own star attractions: tar pits that caught and kept Ice Age animals.
These natural traps preserved over a million fossils, making La Brea one of the most important dig sites on Earth. Here’s the story behind these famous fossil beds and how to visit them.
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Asphalt, Not Tar
The term “tar pits” is somewhat misleading, as the substance isn’t actually tar but asphalt, a naturally occurring petroleum product.
These seeps are mostly shallow, extending only a few inches deep. The oil rises from the Salt Lake Oil Field roughly 1,000 feet below…