Pitch Lake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Pitch Lake is a lake of natural asphalt located at La Brea in southwest Trinidad. The lake covers about 40 ha and is reported to be 75 m deep. The Pitch Lake is considered a tourist attraction and attracts about 20,000 visitors annually. It is also mined for asphalt which is exported for high-quality road construction.
The origin of Pitch Lake is related to deep faults in connection with subduction under the Caribbean Plate related to Barbados Arc. The lake has not been studied extensively, but it is believed that the lake is at the intersection of two faults, which allows oil from a deep deposit to be forced up.
Bacterial action on the asphalt at low pressures creates petroleum in asphalt.
[edit] Notes
↑ A Gravity Investigation of the Pitch Lake Of Trinidad And Tobago. Geological Society of Trinidad & Tobago. Retrieved on November 22, 2005.
[edit] External links
- Trinidad's Pitch Lake at www.richard-seaman.com, excellent pictorial.
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