The Pitch Lake

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What is it?
The renowned “Pitch Lake” is a lake located in La Brea, Trinidad. It is the largest, commercial deposit of natural asphalt in the world. Asphalt from this lake has been used in paving roads and airport runways all around the world. Some places include:

The road in front of Buckingham Palace in England
The Lincoln Tunnel
La Guardia Airport, New York
Numerous roads in China

Holding an approximate ten million tons of pitch, this natural wonder of ours measures approximately one hundred acres across and two hundred and fifty feet deep in the center. According to approximate calculations based on the current rate of extraction that is about one hundred and eighty tons of pitch per day, the lake has a renewable reserve of pitch for the next four hundred years.

History

In historical times, the pitch lake was called by the Amerindians, Piche, which means Pitch, while the Spaniards called it TERRA DE BREA which means, “Land of Pitch. The British however called it “PITCH LAKE”, but like many parts of Trinidad, the Spanish name has been kept, hence the village is still called “LA BREA”. The Pitch Lake was discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh in the year 1595 and it has since fascinated explorers, scientists and the common folk, Raleigh himself found immediate use for the asphalt to caulk his ship. Since then, there have been numerous research investigations into the use and chemical composition of this material.

How was the Pitch Lake formed?

Dead organic matter had accumulated over millions of years and deteriorated forming oil. The lake was formed in a depression formed at the top of an anticline. The lake is at the intersection of two faults or cracks, which allows oil from a deep deposit to be forced up. As the oil is forced up it mixes with the clay and water from the earth forming a heavier substance called asphalt or pitch The lighter elements in the oil evaporated, leaving behind the heavier asphalt. Bacterial action on the asphalt at low pressures creates petroleum in asphalt.

Recreation
The surface of the lake is firm enough to walk on except for a small area in the center called “the mother of the lake”. When cracks on the surface become filled with rain water, gas can be seen bubbling in them. Tourists and locals alike come to bathe in these cracks when they are filled with water. The cracks may reach a depth of up to five feet at times. Some believe that the water has healing properties because of the sulphur content. An annual activity called “LAKE SPLASH” is held during the summer.

Myths about the Pitch Lake
CALLIFARIA LEGEND
This legend is about two young lovers who were responsible for the destruction of the settlement of La Brea. Callifaria was the daughter of Callisuna, who was the chief of the La Brea tribe. She fled from her tribe to the long arms of her boyfriend, Kasaka, who was a prince of the Cumana tribe. Callisuna was angered by his daughter’s actions and his warriors fought Cumana. They captured his daughter captured his daughter, tied her to a horse and speedily returned to La Brea. However, Pimlontas, the winged Arawak god, damned the village of La Brea because he was angered by Callisuna’s hasty actions. Pimlontas made the village sink into the earth, replacing it with a thick black substance, the Amerindians called PICHE (PITCH).

COLIBRIE (Humming) BIRD LEGEND
This legend is about the Chima Indians. This tribe lived on the very spot where the present lake exists. It seems that, after a victory, these Indians had jubilant celebrations which included a grand feast in which huge quantities of Colibrie Birds (Humming Birds) were cooked and eaten. The plumes of these small birds were used as accessories. The victory had absorbed the minds of the Indians, causing them to forget that the delicious Colibrie Birds were really the spirits of their ancestors. The winged God opened up the earth and summoned up a lake of pitch that consumed the entire Chima village and its people.

Archaeological Discoveries
Numerous artifacts and fossils have been unearthed from the lake. These relics include eight wooden Amerindian objects, a bench carved in the shape of an animal, with the marks of the carver’s name still clearly visible on the underside, a seat, 2 paddles, a bowl, a mortar, and two weaving sticks. Some of the fossil remains include the rib and thigh of a prehistoric animal, the giant sloth. The giant sloth was much longer than the elephant and weighed many tons. A treetop browser, it dwelled in the Americas during the Pleistocene period that ended 11,000 years ago. A tooth was also found which has been identified as one of the teeth peculiar to the mastodon, which was a large prehistoric animal resembling the elephant, and cousin to the giant Mammoth. These are a few indications that these animals once inhabited Trinidad. In 1928, a huge tree, estimated to be four thousand (4000) years old arose from the middle of the lake to a height of about ten (10) feet before slowly sinking again. A cross-section of the tree was severed for posterity.