La Brea Tar Pits Los Angeles

Located in Los Angeles urban neighborhood, some place called Hancock Park is a cluster of asphalt pits which have a rather lulling Spanish name, La Brea. The name essentially denotes asphalt in Spanish, which has oozed from the grounds of this area for several millennia.

The tar has done a good job of immortalizing long extinct ice age flora and the accompanying animal life. The water that covers the asphalt attracts a whole array of fauna which are characterized by a large predator to prey ratio. This is normal with tar pits the world over.

Some of the known ancient fauna fossilized in La Brea's bowels include several pre-historic species which include the dire wolf, the Saber-toothed cat which serves as California's state fossil, ground sloths and the behemoth mammoths. A whole catalogue of the fossils uncovered at the pits can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Brea_Tar_Pits

http://www.tarpits.org/

While staying at hotels in Los Angeles California it may be beneficial to expand your information on the city by visiting the George C. Page Museum which is located at the Pit's grounds and has currently made new discoveries as they undergo the construction of an underground garage.

The fossils announced formally in February 2009 have since been transported to the Museum and the construction has continued in earnest. The specimen taken from the site was packaged in over 20 accumulations and transferred separately; this included a nearly intact mammoth fossil. The top of its skull had unfortunately been shaved off by the construction workers.