Miracle Mile in Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Rancho La Brea - National Natural Landmark

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, November 24, 2025

1. Rancho La Brea - National Natural Landmark Marker

Inscription. This site possesses exceptioinal value as an illustration of the nation's natural heritage and contributes to a better understanding of man's environment

1963

National Park Service
United States Department of the Interior

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Natural Features • Paleontology. In addition, it is included in the National Natural Landmarks series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1963.

Location. 34° 3.807′ N, 118° 21.331′ W. Marker is in Los Angeles, California, in Los Angeles County. It is in Miracle Mile. It can be reached from Wilshire Boulevard, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5801 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90036, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s Transverse Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Hancock Park (within shouting distance of this marker); La Brea Tar Pits (within shouting distance of this marker); Imagining Ice Age L.A. (within shouting distance of this marker); When Mammoths Walked on Wilshire (within shouting distance of this marker); How did these different types of fossils end up in a tar pit together? (within shouting distance of this marker); Chester Stock Ph.D.

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(about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Pits 3, 4, 61/67 (about 500 feet away); Tar seeps form Ice Age time capsules (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Los Angeles.

Also see . . . Hancock Park La Brea. Excerpt:

The bones of thousands of prehistoric animals that had been entrapped during the Ice Age in pools of tar that bubbled from beneath the ground were exhumed from this site. First historic reference to the pools, part of the 1840 Rancho La Brea land grant, was recorded by Gaspar de Portolá in 1769 - first scientific excavations were made by the University of California in 1906. The site was presented to the County of Los Angeles in 1916 by Captain G. Allan Hancock to be developed as a scientific monument.

(Submitted on January 4, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia.)

Rancho La Brea - National Natural Landmark Marker (marker is on left edge of black wall) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, November 24, 2025

2. Rancho La Brea - National Natural Landmark Marker (marker is on left edge of black wall)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 5, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 4, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 37 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 4, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.