asphalt lake
asphalt lake
a pool formed largely of bitumen (almost entirely carbon and hydrogen, but some oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur) found mainly in southern USA and South America. The La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles are an example, in which trapped animals have been preserved since the Miocene period.Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005