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

1,000 feet above an underground oil field

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, November 24, 2025

1. 1,000 feet above an underground oil field Marker

Inscription. Did you know that you are standing a thousand feet above a large underground oil field? This oil seeps to the surface as sticky asphalt. Plants and unwary animals have been getting trapped in this treacherous goo for tens of thousands of years. Being stuck in the La Brea Tar Pits was a terrible way to die - but a great way to preserve fossils.

Come inside to see a tar pit up close
Finding fossils in asphalt takes hard work, and we have to dig below the surface to locate them. This is one of more than a hundred pits that we dug looking for fossils in this park. Come inside to see how fossils of an extinct mastodon, Harlan's ground sloth, and saber-toothed cat look when they are first discovered by scientists!

The observation pit opened in 1952 and was the park's first museum.

fossil = remains of an animal or plant preserved by natural causes. In the Tar Pits, the fossils are preserved by asphalt.

asphalt = a sticky substance that seeps to the surface from an underground oil field.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Paleontology.

Location. 34° 3.853′ N, 118° 21.516′ W. Marker is in Los Angeles, California, in Los Angeles County. It is in Miracle Mile. It can be reached

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from 6th Street, on the right when traveling east. The marker is located in Hancock Park, by the Observation Pit. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5978 6th Street, 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: Pit 13 (within shouting distance of this marker); Death Trap for Meat-Eaters (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Pit 13 (within shouting distance of this marker); Project 23: Who, What, Why, Where, and How? (within shouting distance of this marker); Pit 91 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Pit 9 (about 300 feet away); What's in the crates? (about 300 feet away); How Did 27 Columbian Mammoths Fit in This Small Pit? (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Los Angeles.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, November 24, 2025

2. 1,000 feet above an underground oil field Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 18, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 22, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 43 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 22, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.