I finally visited the #LaBreaTarPits in #LosAngeles. They are a link to the #IceAge, up to 50,000 years ago with more than 100 excavations of plants and animals that lived in the L.A. Basin.

The on-site museum is home to one of the largest collections of Ice Age fossils in the world! I am grateful that visiting the Tar Pits is free! There is a small charge for the museum.

What surprised me is that they are #alive still today! That is, crude oil still seeps to the surface through fissures in the Earth, and as the oil evaporates heavy tar or asphalt remains in sticky pools. Fossil fuels continually seep through and emerge in the grass as “oil” on the surface. Thus, you see cones and fenced areas marking the fresh oil that bubbles up constantly, warning visitors to be careful where they step, or let their children play.

Continue reading →