A tar pit, or more properly asphalt pit, is a geological occurrence where subterranean asphalt leaks to the surface, creating a large puddle, pit, or lake of asphalt. Animals wandering or falling in can get stuck, being unable to extricate themselves from the asphalt; making them excellent locations to excavate bones of prehistoric animals.
There are three known asphalt lakes worldwide; they are: Pitch Lake at La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago, La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, and a tar lake in Venezuala.
La Brea Tar Pits have a museum built around the fossilized remains of mammals and birds found in such a tar pit.
The computer security term "tarpit" is named by analogy with this usage.
