The McKittrick Tar Pits

At McKittrick, along the westside of the San Joaquin Valley of California, there is a line of spectacular and richly fossiliferous tar pits that have been exploited for thousands of years. These tar pits rival the famous La Brea Tar Pits and have yielded an equally diverse assemblage of Pleistocene plants and animals. In addition, the McKittrick pits guided pioneer efforts, at the turn of the century, to develop the giant Midway-Sunset field, the largest oil-producing field in the lower 48 United States. Click on the links below to learn more about this fascinating natural wonder.