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| Landmark #498 | Kern County | Visited: January 26, 2013 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A plundered roadside plaque! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: Located one-eighth mile west of here is an ancient asphaltum seepage in which hundreds of Pleistocene Age (15,000-50,000 years ago) birds and animals were trapped. The site was first explored in 1928 by the University of California; excavation was completed in 1949 by the Los Angeles and Kern County museums.
OTHER TIDBITS: The Yokuts tribe had long used this asphalt tar for trading, waterproofing, and sticking things together, even as chewing gum! In 1864, American settlers started mining it too! It was terrible work, since it could get to be 140 degrees Fahrenheit in the pits and full of noxious tar smells! The miners usually worked naked because they’d become covered in tar, which they had to scrape off at the end of each day! This asphalt then went on to pave the streets of San Francisco! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: SW corner of intersection of State Hwy 33 (P.M. 33. 5) and State Hwy 58 (P.M. 15.4) 0.5 mi S of McKittrick, CA 93251 ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~138mi (223km) — 2.3hrs |
| When should I go? | Whenever the mood strikes you! |
