The Pitch Lake
In Trinidad, a lake of black, oozing asphalt bubbles and shifts. Legend says it swallowed a village that angered the spirits.
What was reported
The Pitch Lake at La Brea, in southern Trinidad, is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world: about 40 hectares of black, sticky pitch, firm enough to walk on in places, with pools of water and bubbles of gas. Sir Walter Raleigh used it to seal his ships in 1595.
A legend of the Chaima people says the lake appeared when the gods punished a village for killing sacred hummingbirds, swallowing it whole.
Explanations offered
Geologists explain that oil seeps up from deep underground along a fault, and the lighter parts evaporate, leaving thick asphalt. The lake slowly churns, which brings up old objects. Scientists have even found microbes living in tiny water droplets in the pitch.
- When
- Known for centuries
- Where
- La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago
- Witnesses
- Local people, sailors and scientists
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.