Known by locals as the world's eighth wonder, Trinidad and Tobago's tar pit- the La Brea Pitch Lake, is the largest in the world. This weekend, we carried the boys for a visit and to learn about the industry on our little island that has paved roads in many countries around the world.
Facts about Trinidad and Tobago's La Brea Pitch Lake
- The pitch lake in Trinidad and Tobago is the largest tar pit or deposit of asphalt in the world.
- Some comparison has been drawn between the Pitch Lake and hydrocarbon lakes on Saturn's moon, Titan. Cool, huh?
- The lake is believed to cover about 100 acres and is 250 feet deep today, holding about 10 million tons of pitch, though locals will tell you that a lot of the pitch is depleted and they will point to now green hillsides where once, they say, the pitch levels rose.
- Fossilized remains have surfaced on the pitch lake over the years, including the remains of a prehistoric giant sloth, a mastodon tooth, and more recent Amerindian remains and artefacts.
- In 1595, English explorer, Sir Walter Raleigh, on an expedition to find the fabled El Dorado, came by the island of Trinidad and, during his travels here, was taken by local Caribs to the pitch lake where he was shown how to use the lake's tar to caulk leaks in his ship.
- Mining the lake started in 1867.
These 'buckets' are used to transport the pitch mined from the lake to the refinery where it is processed.
Our tour guide, Mr. Neil Langley, was informed, engaging, and fun, as he moved expertly through the underbrush that grew on the edges of the lake, which in places, could be treacherous, causing a person to sink quickly.
He spoke about the lake's industry and the now defunct refinery which once stood on the outskirts of the village which bears the Pitch Lake's name, La Brea being the Spanish term for the pitch.
"Pitch," he tells us, "Has been around for many millions of years. In fact, pitch is mentioned in the Bible. Noah, I believe, caulked his ship with a tar-like substance, and so too did Moses' mother when she asked Miriam to put him adrift on the river." As he spoke, I made a mental note to verify his claims by poring through the pages of the book of Genesis.
A walking encyclopedia, Mr. Langley has been serving as a tour guide around the lake for more than 30 years. He takes us to the Mother of the Lake where the pitch is liquid.
Then, he took us to pools where the water was so warm and inviting, the boys were tempted to take a splash...
There were also milky colored sulphur pools near the center of the lake, the waters of which villagers will tell you are healing. And I confess, I was tempted. I put my toes in.
We ended our trip this weekend with a visit to the neighboring beach, less than ten minutes away, and again, the boys had a blast.
Me, I sat on the shore, and took pictures of moored boats.
