La Brea is a town in southwestern

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, located northeast of

Point Fortin Point Fortin, officially the Republic Borough of Point Fortin, the smallest Borough in Trinidad and Tobago is located in southwestern Trinidad, about southwest of San Fernando, in the historic county of Saint Patrick. After the discovery of p ...

and southwest of

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

. La Brea (Spanish for "the tar" or "the pitch") is best known as the site of the

Pitch Lake The Pitch Lake is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world, estimated to contain 10 million tons. It is located in La Brea in southwest Trinidad, within the Siparia Regional Corporation. The lake covers about 100 acres (0.405 squa ...

, a natural

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

lake. Pronunciation of "La Brea" differs from that used in the USA at the

La Brea Tar Pits La Brea Tar Pits is an active paleontological research site in urban Los Angeles. Hancock Park was formed around a group of tar pits where natural asphalt (also called asphaltum, bitumen, or pitch; ''brea'' in Spanish) has seeped up from the gro ...

in Los Angeles. Trinidadians call this place "La Bray".

Location

La Brea health district is situated in the mid-western peninsula. It is bounded by the

Gulf of Paria The Gulf of Paria ( ; es, Golfo de Paria) is a shallow (180 m at its deepest) semi-enclosed inland sea located between the island of Trinidad (Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) and the east coast of Venezuela. It separates the two countries ...

on the west, Mondesir Road and part of National Mining on the north, by Fowl Play Bridge Aripero village on the south and by Union Village on the east. The villages included within these boundaries are: Union, Vessigny, Chinese Village, Aripero, Sobo, Rousillac village, Vance River and La Brea.

Size and population

It is approximately 52 km² in size and has a population of about 18,000.

Climate

There are two main seasons: the dry season from January to May and the rainy season from May to December.

Topography

La Brea is famous for its natural wonder of the world, "The Pitch Lake", which is actually the largest of three in existence. It is located on an area of depression in the landscape; with some pools, reeds and grayish

everywhere. The asphalt is so soft in some areas that an individual can slowly sink if he/she stands on the surface too long. In some places one can put a stick through the asphalt and remove liquid tar. During the rainy season, the pools collect water, which becomes sulfurous due to the gases that are being released through the asphalt layers. These pools of water become breeding places for ''

Aedes aegypti ''Aedes aegypti'', the yellow fever mosquito, is a mosquito that can spread dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika fever, Mayaro and yellow fever viruses, and other disease agents. The mosquito can be recognized by black and white markings on its legs ...

'' and other

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es, thereby creating a health risk for workers of Lake Asphalt Company and tourists as well as the local villagers.

Transportation

Roads in the district have to be constantly repaired, which usually takes a long time. Road users are inconvenienced by the condition of the roads and commuters have to pay very high fares. The means of transportation are:

maxi taxi Maxi taxis are private, owner-operated minibuses in Romania and Trinidad and Tobago that are used in public transport. They operate along fixed routes, having fixed fares and meeting points, but do not operate under a timetable. Australia Simila ...

s, P-cars, taxis and buses. Residents who have their own transport claim that vehicles are very costly to maintain because of frequent repairs as a result of the condition of the roads. After 7 pm transport becomes very difficult to obtain.

Industry and economy

In La Brea the main and largest industry is the Lake Asphalt Company. Small-scale farming and fishing are other sources of income. However, many residents work outside the community either in the neighboring towns of

and

or even further. Proposals for the construction of a

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including Silver mining#Ore processing, silver, iron-making, iron, copper extracti ...

plant in the area have been the subject of protests due to the harmful effects such an industry may pose for residents. Like much of southwestern Trinidad, La Brea has declined since the end of the oil boom in the early 1980s. The closure of the ''Trintoc'' (now

Petrotrin Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (Petrotrin) was a state-owned oil company in Trinidad and Tobago. Its principal activities were the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbons in addition to the manufacturing and mar ...

) camp at Brighton was a major blow to the economy of the town. Attempts were made to lure heavy industry to the ''Labidco'' (La Brea Industrial Development Company) Industrial Estate in the early 1990s, but the

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

instability of the area made the area unsuitable. More recent attempts to attract medium and light industry have been more successful. In particular, the La Brea Industrial Estate, and its accompanying natural deep-water harbour at

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, were developed by NGC (National Gas Company)/NEC as an alternative industrial site to

Point Lisas Point Lisas is a major industrial centre in Trinidad and Tobago and is host to the ''Point Lisas Industrial Estate'' and the ''Port of Point Lisas'', both of which are managed by Plipdeco (the Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Company). Po ...

. At present, La Brea offers dock and deep draught harbour facilities, site and utilities for land-based industries,

bioremediation Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi, and plants), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, water, soil, flue gasses, industrial effluent ...

and offshore logistical support.

Local amenities

The main recreational and relaxation facilities are Vessigny beach resort, "Carat shed" beach, Station beach, Pitch Lake Brighton sports ground and the sports ground located in Sobo The only available health resources are Petrotrin Lake Asphalt Medical Centre, which is a private enterprise for health care of workers and their immediate family. The other health facility is the La Brea Health Centre, which serves the entire community. La Brea is the location of the court house, revenue division,

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

, market,

abattoir A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

, food court, drug store (in Rousillac), along with a few stores and an

internet café An Internet café, also known as a cybercafé, is a café (or a convenience store or a fully dedicated Internet access business) that provides the use of computers with high bandwidth Internet access on the payment of a fee. Usage is generally ...

References

{{coord, 10, 15, N, 61, 37, W, region:TT_type:city, display=title Populated places in Trinidad and Tobago