Los Angeles, California 2001 : La Brea Tar Pits

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La Brea Tar Pits : Los Angeles, California : Trip Report

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La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum

I really love the La Brea Tar Pits because what other city in the country (or even the world) has tar pits in the middle of town? Not only that, but these tar pits captured thousands of animals in their 40,000 years of existence. Many of these have been recovered and put back together and displayed in the Page Museum right next to one of the actual bubbling pits.

The Page Museum is small but contains an excellent collection of the fossilized skeletons of the animals recovered from the tar pits. On display are animals that are anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 years old. Many of the skeletons on display are from long extinct species. Surprisingly there has only been one human skeleton recovered.

Click on thumbnail for a full-size picture

Although it looks like a pond this is actually a tar pit. It certainly smells like tar.
Viewed: 4 times.
All around the pit you can still see the tar bubbling.
Viewed: 7 times.
Right next to the pit is the Page Museum.
Viewed: 5 times.

A display explaining the science behind fossils.
Viewed: 3 times.
A continuation of that display.
Viewed: 3 times.
Shasta Ground Sloth.
Viewed: 5 times.

Harlan's Ground Sloth.
Viewed: 5 times.
Antique Bison.
Viewed: 4 times.
Extinct Camel.
Viewed: 4 times.

American Mastodon and calf.
Viewed: 2 times.
What a Columbian Mastodon may have looked like.
Viewed: 6 times.
An average sized Columbian Mastodon.
Viewed: 3 times.

Great view of the huge tusks.
Viewed: 4 times.
Close-up of the jaw.
Viewed: 2 times.
Brea Condor.
Viewed: 2 times.

La Brea Stork.
Viewed: 6 times.
Merriam's Giant Condor.
Viewed: 3 times.
Dire Wolf.
Viewed: 2 times.

Wall of Dire Wolf skulls.
Viewed: 2 times.
One of the 404 Dire Wolf skulls on the wall.
Viewed: 3 times.
American Lion.
Viewed: 4 times.

Extinct Western Horse.
Viewed: 4 times.
Short-Faced Bear.
Viewed: 2 times.
A Sabre-Toothed Cat attacking a Sloth.
Viewed: 6 times.

Sabre-Toothed Cat Family.
Viewed: 6 times.
A Dire Wolf in the Paleontology Lab.
Viewed: 3 times.
California Sabre-Tooth skull.
Viewed: 2 times.

A Mastodon skull being cleaned.
Viewed: 2 times.
A collection of jaws.
Viewed: 3 times.
A mass of bones in tar as it would be pulled out of the pit.
Viewed: 5 times.

A mass of bones packed in plaster for transport.
Viewed: 3 times.
On top of the museum is a platform to view the pit and a tropical garden in the center.
Viewed: 3 times.
View of the garden in the middle of the museum.
Viewed: 3 times.

Click on thumbnail for a full-size picture
Although it looks like a pond this is actually a tar pit. It certainly smells like tar. Viewed: 4 times.	All around the pit you can still see the tar bubbling. Viewed: 7 times.	Right next to the pit is the Page Museum. Viewed: 5 times.
A display explaining the science behind fossils. Viewed: 3 times.	A continuation of that display. Viewed: 3 times.	Shasta Ground Sloth. Viewed: 5 times.
Harlan's Ground Sloth. Viewed: 5 times.	Antique Bison. Viewed: 4 times.	Extinct Camel. Viewed: 4 times.
American Mastodon and calf. Viewed: 2 times.	What a Columbian Mastodon may have looked like. Viewed: 6 times.	An average sized Columbian Mastodon. Viewed: 3 times.
Great view of the huge tusks. Viewed: 4 times.	Close-up of the jaw. Viewed: 2 times.	Brea Condor. Viewed: 2 times.
La Brea Stork. Viewed: 6 times.	Merriam's Giant Condor. Viewed: 3 times.	Dire Wolf. Viewed: 2 times.
Wall of Dire Wolf skulls. Viewed: 2 times.	One of the 404 Dire Wolf skulls on the wall. Viewed: 3 times.	American Lion. Viewed: 4 times.
Extinct Western Horse. Viewed: 4 times.	Short-Faced Bear. Viewed: 2 times.	A Sabre-Toothed Cat attacking a Sloth. Viewed: 6 times.
Sabre-Toothed Cat Family. Viewed: 6 times.	A Dire Wolf in the Paleontology Lab. Viewed: 3 times.	California Sabre-Tooth skull. Viewed: 2 times.
A Mastodon skull being cleaned. Viewed: 2 times.	A collection of jaws. Viewed: 3 times.	A mass of bones in tar as it would be pulled out of the pit. Viewed: 5 times.
A mass of bones packed in plaster for transport. Viewed: 3 times.	On top of the museum is a platform to view the pit and a tropical garden in the center. Viewed: 3 times.	View of the garden in the middle of the museum. Viewed: 3 times.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Right next to the Tar Pits is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). I only took a couple pictures on the outside as I was too busy trying to figure out the modern art. It was also a bit too dark in most rooms to take pictures without a flash.

Click on thumbnail for a full-size picture
The museum from the street. Viewed: 2 times.	The impressive entrance to the actual museum. Viewed: 1 time.

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