What is Pitch Lake?
The '''Pitch Lake''' is the largest natural [[deposit]] of [[asphalt]] in the world. It is [[estimated]] to contain 10 million tons of asphalt. It can be found in [[La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago|La Brea]] in southwest [[Trinidad]], inside the [[Siparia Regional Corporation]]. The lake covers about 100 acres (0,405 square kilometres). The lake is 250 feet (76,2 metres) deep.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-10-01|title=Pitch Lake, Trinidad - a geological wonder that is mined for asphalt, Liverpool museums|url=http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/collections/research/trinidad/pitch-lake.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001085634/http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/collections/research/trinidad/pitch-lake.aspx|archive-date=2018-10-01|access-date=2021-05-06|website=web.archive.org}}</ref> ==History== [[File:Digging asphalt, Pitch Lake, Trinidad, W.I., by Detroit Publishing Company, 1890s, from the Library of Congress - det.4a05483.jpg|thumb|Pitch Lake, ca. 1890]] The Pitch Lake has been very interesting to explorers and [[Scientist|scientists]]. It was re-discovered by [[Sir Walter Raleigh]] in his [[expedition]] there in 1595. Raleigh himself used the asphalt to caulk his [[ship]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-02-16|title=Trinidad Express Newspapers: {{!}} La Brea, home of the pitch lake|url=https://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/la_brea__home_of_the_pitch_lake-184636341.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216143939/https://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/la_brea__home_of_the_pitch_lake-184636341.html|archive-date=2018-02-16|access-date=2021-05-06|website=web.archive.org}}</ref> The native [[Amerindian|Amerindians]] told Raleigh where he can find the lake. The native Amerindians had their own story about where the lake came from. The story goes that the people living there were celebrating a victory over a rival tribe when they got carried away in their celebration. They then cooked and ate the sacred [[hummingbird]] which they believed possessed the souls of their ancestors.<ref>{{Cite web|title=La Brea,