The
Page museum opened in 1977 to house the over one million fossil
artifacts found in the asphalt deposits known as La Brea Tar Pits.
On display in the museum are over 30 separate exhibits, reconstructed
animal skeletons, robotic sculptures, a glass-walled working laboratory,
hands-on displays, photo murals and films.
Outside the museum is a large petroleum reservoir called the Salt
Lake Oil Field. Nearly all of the skeletons on display are real
fossil bones were found at the tar pits. About 8 -12 gallons of
still tar ooze and bubble to the surface each day. Visitors to
the tar pits can learn about Los Angeles as it was between 10,000
and 40,000 years ago.
The lake pit was originally an asphalt mine. The other pits visible
today were created during the 1900s, when over 100 pits were excavated
in search of large mammal bones. Various combinations of asphaltum
and water have since filled in these holes
Normally, the asphalt appears in vents, hardening as it oozes
out, to form stubby mounds. As the bones of the dead animals sink
into the asphalt, it soaks into them, turning them a dark-brown
or black color. Lighter fractions of petroleum evaporate from
the asphalt, leaving a more solid substance, which holds the bones.
Apart from the dramatic fossils of large mammals, the asphalt
also preserves very small "microfossils": wood and plant
remnants, rodent bones, insects, mollusks, dust, seeds, leaves,
and even pollen grains. |
