Use of natural asphalt from Pitch Lake
Aprovechamiento del asfalto natural del Pitch Lake
- Date
- 1595 · confidence high
- Place
- La Brea, Siparia, Trinidad and Tobago
- Credited to
- Amerindian peoples of Trinidad; European record by Walter Raleigh (1595)
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
The world's largest natural asphalt lake was known to Amerindians, and Walter Raleigh visited it in 1595 and found it useful for caulking ships. In the 19th century its asphalt was exported to pave streets in Europe and the United States.
Local Amerindians already used the pitch before Raleigh. The year is that of the best-known European record; the place is La Brea in south-west Trinidad.
What it led to
- caulking of ships with natural pitch in Atlantic trade
- export of Trinidad asphalt from the 19th century to pave streets (for example in Washington, 1870s)
- a natural-asphalt industry lasting over a century