THE PITCH LAKE

WHAT IS THE PITCH LAKE

• The Pitch Lake is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world,
estimated to contain 10 million tons or four hundred years of material. It
is located in La Brea in southwest Trinidad, within the Siparia Regional
Corporation. The lake covers about 100 acres (0,405 square kilometres)
and is reported to be 250 (76,2 metres) feet deep. The Pitch Lake is a
popular tourist attraction, that includes a small museum, from where
official tour guides can escort people across the lake. The lake is mined
for asphalt by Lake Asphalt of Trinidad and Tobago.
 GEOLOGY ASPECT OF THE PITCH LAKE
• The origin of the Pitch Lake is related to deep faults in connection with
subduction under the Caribbean Plate related to Barbados Arc. The lake has not
been studied extensively, but it is believed that the lake is at the intersection of
two faults, which allows oil from a deep deposit to be forced up. The lighter
elements in the oil evaporate under the hot tropical sun, leaving behind the
heavier asphalt. Bacterial action on the asphalt at low pressures creates petroleum
in asphalt. The researchers indicated that extremophiles inhabited the asphalt lake
in populations ranging between 106 to 107 cells/gram. The Pitch Lake is one of
several natural asphalt lakes in the world.
 INDUSTRIAL ASPECT OF THE PITCH LAKE
•Lake Asphalt of Trinidad and Tobago (1978) Limited (Lake
Asphalt) is a wholly owned state enterprise situated in Brighton,
La Brea, Trinidad charged with the commercial development of the
Pitch Lake of Trinidad and Tobago, the world’s largest deposit of
natural asphalt.
•The company has been involved in the mining, refining,
manufacture and distribution of high quality road building
materials and other asphalt related products for over one hundred
years and is a global organization with distributors and alliances in
• Lake Asphalt processes and exports Trinidad Lake Asphalt (TLA), which
is mined from the Pitch Lake in La Brea. TLA, the company’s flagship
product is recognised around the world as the superior modifier for
refinery bitumen and has been used on every continent in the world over
the past century in a number of applications including the paving of
some of the largest roadways, highways, bridge decks, racetracks and
airport runways across the globe.
 PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND TERTIARY
INDUSTRY OF THE PITCH LAKE
• Primary - Trinidad Lake Asphalt (TLA) is the scientific name used to
describe asphalt after it has been refined, through an amazingly simple
process of heating and sifting out of stones, and other extraneous matter.
In its crude, unrefined form, it is simply termed “pitch”, or natural
asphalt. 
• Secondary - Trinidad Lake Asphalt is packaged the asphalt in 230kg fire-
board drum and shipped internationally in 20’ and 40’ containers. When
refined in its marketable form, it is labeled as TLA.
• Tertiary - Lake Asphalt has exported and distributed its refined TLA
throughout the world over the years via a series of distributors
 MARKETING EXPORTS:
• 1. Asphalt Associates Ltd-Territory: United Kingdom, Republic of
Ireland, Japan, Hong Kong
• 2. Carl Ungewitter Trinidad Lake Asphalt GmbH & Co. K-Territory:
Germany, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Turkey
• 3. China Railway Construction (Caribbean) Co. Ltd -Territory: China
 HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

Lake Asphalt of Trinidad and Tobago (1978) Limited has a working

environment where the Health, safety and Welfare of all employees
(permanent and casual), contractors, customers, suppliers, visitors and
those who may be affected by the operations/activities are of importance
to the protection of the environs. In this regard, Lake Asphalt:
 Develops and implement systems (such as a HSE Management System)
to ensure the safety, health and welfare by minimizing the impacts on
the environment in keeping with applicable local and international
legislation and industry’s best practice to ensure the development and
implementation of the required policies and procedures designed to
promote safe working practices and environmental protection.
 Ensure the reduction of accident, incidents, near misses and
occupational illnesses/diseases by preventative strategies, monitoring,
prompt reporting, thorough investigations and recording
 Develop and implement an Emergency Response Plan and conduct
simulation exercises and drills as stipulated in the plan to ensure safe,
efficient, and effective response to emergencies.
 IS THE PITCH LAKE INEXHAUSTIBLE?
• The pitch lake thought to be inexhaustible because occasionally, organic
matter, would appear at the surface, fueling the thought that it came from
below and with it, a replenished amount of TLA.
• Secondly, its miraculous consistency from place to place on its surface,
and over the hundreds of years of use, suggests that it has homogenized
by constant motion
•  Thirdly, quantity surveys are conducted from time to time and, despite
its rate of extract, its residue is often slightly more than that which the
survey suggests that it should be.
DIAGRAM OF THE UNDERGROUND
MOVEMENT OF THE PITCH
DIAGRAM OF THE FORMATION OF
PITCH
 REFERENCES
• HTTPS://TRINIDADLAKEASPHALT.COM
• HTTPS://WHC.UNESO.ORG/EN/TENTATIVELISTS/5645/
• HTTPS://WWW.LAKESCIENTIST.COM/PITCH-LAKE-NATURAL-A
SPHALT-LAKE
• HTTPS://TRAVELTIPS.USATODAY.COM/HISTORY-PITCH-LAKE-T
RINDAD-58120.HTML