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: 1,438 times.
All around the pit you can still see the tar bubbling.
Viewed: 1,369 times.
Right next to the pit is the Page Museum.
Viewed: 636 times.

A display explaining the science behind fossils.
Viewed: 537 times.
A continuation of that display.
Viewed: 465 times.
Shasta Ground Sloth.
Viewed: 797 times.

Harlan's Ground Sloth.
Viewed: 646 times.
Antique Bison.
Viewed: 687 times.
Extinct Camel.
Viewed: 720 times.

American Mastodon and calf.
Viewed: 611 times.
What a Columbian Mastodon may have looked like.
Viewed: 855 times.
An average sized Columbian Mastodon.
Viewed: 614 times.

Great view of the huge tusks.
Viewed: 619 times.
Close-up of the jaw.
Viewed: 436 times.
Brea Condor.
Viewed: 605 times.

La Brea Stork.
Viewed: 522 times.
Merriam's Giant Condor.
Viewed: 829 times.
Dire Wolf.
Viewed: 673 times.

Wall of Dire Wolf skulls.
Viewed: 507 times.
One of the 404 Dire Wolf skulls on the wall.
Viewed: 429 times.
American Lion.
Viewed: 691 times.

Extinct Western Horse.
Viewed: 619 times.
Short-Faced Bear.
Viewed: 639 times.
A Sabre-Toothed Cat attacking a Sloth.
Viewed: 939 times.

Sabre-Toothed Cat Family.
Viewed: 789 times.
A Dire Wolf in the Paleontology Lab.
Viewed: 529 times.
California Sabre-Tooth skull.
Viewed: 527 times.

A Mastodon skull being cleaned.
Viewed: 406 times.
A collection of jaws.
Viewed: 436 times.
A mass of bones in tar as it would be pulled out of the pit.
Viewed: 614 times.

A mass of bones packed in plaster for transport.
Viewed: 361 times.
On top of the museum is a platform to view the pit and a tropical garden in the center.
Viewed: 353 times.
View of the garden in the middle of the museum.
Viewed: 445 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: 1,438 times.	All around the pit you can still see the tar bubbling. Viewed: 1,369 times.	Right next to the pit is the Page Museum. Viewed: 636 times.
A display explaining the science behind fossils. Viewed: 537 times.	A continuation of that display. Viewed: 465 times.	Shasta Ground Sloth. Viewed: 797 times.
Harlan's Ground Sloth. Viewed: 646 times.	Antique Bison. Viewed: 687 times.	Extinct Camel. Viewed: 720 times.
American Mastodon and calf. Viewed: 611 times.	What a Columbian Mastodon may have looked like. Viewed: 855 times.	An average sized Columbian Mastodon. Viewed: 614 times.
Great view of the huge tusks. Viewed: 619 times.	Close-up of the jaw. Viewed: 436 times.	Brea Condor. Viewed: 605 times.
La Brea Stork. Viewed: 522 times.	Merriam's Giant Condor. Viewed: 829 times.	Dire Wolf. Viewed: 673 times.
Wall of Dire Wolf skulls. Viewed: 507 times.	One of the 404 Dire Wolf skulls on the wall. Viewed: 429 times.	American Lion. Viewed: 691 times.
Extinct Western Horse. Viewed: 619 times.	Short-Faced Bear. Viewed: 639 times.	A Sabre-Toothed Cat attacking a Sloth. Viewed: 939 times.
Sabre-Toothed Cat Family. Viewed: 789 times.	A Dire Wolf in the Paleontology Lab. Viewed: 529 times.	California Sabre-Tooth skull. Viewed: 527 times.
A Mastodon skull being cleaned. Viewed: 406 times.	A collection of jaws. Viewed: 436 times.	A mass of bones in tar as it would be pulled out of the pit. Viewed: 614 times.
A mass of bones packed in plaster for transport. Viewed: 361 times.	On top of the museum is a platform to view the pit and a tropical garden in the center. Viewed: 353 times.	View of the garden in the middle of the museum. Viewed: 445 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: 251 times.	The impressive entrance to the actual museum. Viewed: 220 times.

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