The Pitch Lake is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world, estimated to contain 10 million tons. It is located in La Brea in southwest Trinidad, within the Siparia Regional Corporation. The lake covers about 100 acres (0.405 square kilometres) and is reported to be 250 feet (76.2 metres) deep.
Pitch Lake is a popular tourist attraction, including a small museum, from where official tour guides can escort people across the lake. The lake is mined for asphalt by Lake Asphalt of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Pitch Lake has fascinated explorers and scientists, attracting tourists since its re-discovery by Sir Walter Raleigh in his expedition there in 1595. Raleigh himself found immediate use for the asphalt to caulk his ship. He referred to the pitch as “most excellent… It melteth not with the sun as the pitch of Norway”.Raleigh was informed of the lake’s location by the native Amerindians, who had their own story about the origin of the lake.
The story goes that the indigenous people were celebrating a victory over a rival tribe when they got carried away in their celebration. They proceeded to cook and eat the sacred hummingbird which they believed possessed the souls of their ancestors.According to legend, their winged God punished them by opening the earth and conjuring the pitch lake to swallow the entire village, and the lake became a permanent stain and a reminder of their sins. The local villages believe this legend due to the many Amerindian artifacts and a cranium that have been discovered, preserved, in the pitch.
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