BENCHMARKS: AUGUST 3, 1769: THE LA BREA TAR PITS ARE DESCRIBED.

The article discusses the history of the tar pits at Rancho La Brea in Los Angeles, California. Franciscan friar Juan Crespi with the Spanish expedition of Gaspar de Portola described the region of La Brea as having large amounts of tar in August 1769. The paleontological importance of the site was realized when a canine tooth was discovered in the 1870s by land owner Henry Hancock. Starting in 1969, researchers had reportedly reopened Pit 91 to asses the full variety of fossils in the site.