LA BREA TAR PITS

tar pits, in Hancock Park (Rancho La Brea), Los Angeles, Calif., U.S. It is the site of pitch springs oozing crude oil, discovered by Gaspar de Portol's expedition in 1769. The tar pits contain the fossilized skulls and bones of prehistoric animals that became entrapped in the sticky seepage of the pits. The remains of such Pleistocene mammals as imperial mammoth, mastodon, sabre-toothed cat, giant ground sloth, and camel have been recovered. Park exhibits include giant life-size figures of many such long-extinct creatures and an observation pit. The George C. Page Museum contains more than a million prehistoric specimens exhumed from the pits. Fossil remains from La Brea (Spanish: The Tar) are also exhibited at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.