Carpinteria Asphalt Deposits
Map SatelliteSecond only to the Rancho La Brea tar pits in importance in deciphering the Southern California Pleistocene flora and fauna, the Carpinteria asphalt deposits are unique in their abundance of fossil plants. These are uncommon at Rancho La Brea and McKittrick Tar Pits (Kern Co.). As this deposit is adjacent to the coast, it provides information on the maritime effects on the ecology of the terrestrial communities.
Twenty-five fossil plant species representing 18 families have been found here, including one fern and eight conifers. Among the conifers are the redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, and the Bishop and Monterey pines, Pinus muricata and Pinus radiata. Other species include the coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia, and an Arctostaphylos ssp. The presence of the redwood and Monterey pine would indicate that during a portion of the Pleistocene the climate was cooler and more humid than that now found along this stretch of coast.
Abundant mammal, bird, insect and marine invertebrate fossils have been found here, though most of the vertebrates are represented by incomplete skeletons or only a few bones. The bird remains are the most abundant with over 57 different species having been recovered, including the California condor, Gymnogyps californianus, and the golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos.
Typical mammal remains include the horse, Equus occidentalis, and the bison, Bison antiquus.
Geologically the deposits are tarry asphaltum which have been extruded from the underlying highly folded Miocene Monterey shales. Today the deposits are found in the sand and gravel of the low marine terrace and low cliff just beyond the high-water mark. Many of the tar seeps are still active and though the seepage is quite slow, the asphalt flows onto the beach cementing seaweed, pebbles, rocks and shells into a firm conglomerate.
Integrity: During Now a part of the State Park system, the area may be made into a parking lot.
Use: Research, education
Ref: Chaney, Ralph W. and H. L. Mason, 1934. A Pleistocene Flora from the Asphalt Deposits at Carpinteria, Calif. In Studies of the Pleistocene Paleobotany of California, Carnegie Institute of Washington, Publ. 415, p. 46-79.
Grant, U. S. and A. W. Strong, 1934. Fossil Mollusks from the Vertebrate Bearing Asphalt Deposits at Carpinteria, California. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences, Vol. 33 (January) p. 7-11.
Miller, Loye, 1932. Pleistocene Birds from the Carpinteria Asphalt Deposits of California. University .of California Publ. in Geology, Vol. 20, No. 10, p. 361-374.
Wilson, Robert W., 1934. Pleistocene Mammalian Fauna from the Carpinteria Asphalt. In Papers Concerning the Paleontology of California, Arizona and Idaho, Carnegie Institute of Washington, Publ. 440.
March 1975
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman