Pitch Lake,
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Trinidad & Tobago
Pitch LakeVisited: July 2001 More pictures of Pitch Lake:
These pictures have been tagged with the following tags (clicking on the tag will take you to all pictures on this site with that tag) Central&South America grey lake Pitch Lake Trinidad Trinidad & Tobago water trees brown clouds green panoramaSearchSearch pages at Traveladventures.org Go directly to:Travel picturesYou can travel the world using images - select your preferred language below:  |  |  |  |  |  MailinglistIf you want to be updated regularly about new stories and pictures: Google EarthClick your way around Trinidad & Tobago with pictures (needs Google Earth software) Visual GeographyAdvertiseIt is possible to advertise on this travel site. Travel advertisers, ask for more information! SurveyIs there a difference between a traveler and a tourist? View Results Related search: |
Perhaps the most curious thing in Trinidad, Pitch Lake is actually the largest of three existing ones in the world. When we arrived, we saw a depression in the landscape, and there it was: an area with some pools, reed, and greyish asphalt everywhere. We quickly rented a guide who took us on a most surprising tour. Soon, we found ourselves walking on soft asphalt, in which you slowly sink if you stand on one place for too long. 
Once, a local king killed and ate a sacred hummingbird, and the punishment of the Great Spirit was severe: it covered the village of the tribe under asphalt. This legend is reinforced by all kinds of artefactd which have emerged over time. We saw trees pushing their branches through the asphalt and mysteriously emerging from the grey and seemingly impenetrable surface. 
Since we visited in the rainy season, there were some waterpools in the lake. Some of those are sulphurous, because of gasses released through the asphalt layers. We saw these gasses bubbling up at many places, and had some nice (and, according to our guide, rejuvenating) baths in them. In some places, you can put a stick through the asphalt layer and take out fluid tar. All in all, a very remarkable place.
