The Pitch Lake (Trinidad Natural Asphalt) 

Trinidad Natural Asphalt is a solid emulsified natural asphalt which exists in a crude state in a ‘bowl shaped’ lake located in La Brea, Trinidad. This renowned “Pitch Lake”  is the largest, commercial deposit of natural asphalt in the world. It is from this location that refined asphalt, known as Trinidad Lake Asphalt, is exported to countries all over the world and employed in a variety of applications from heavy-duty traffic pavements to insulating compounds for the cable and electrical industries.

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 lake measures approximately one hundred acres (41 hectares), and is estimated to be two hundred and fifty (250) feet (76meters) deep in the center. This wonder holds an estimated ten million tons (10) of pitch; a total of one hundred and eighty (180) tons of pitch is extracted from the lake per day. At the current rate of extraction the lake is estimated to have renewable reserve of pitch for the next four hundred (400) years.

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