A designation memo from the United States Department of the Interior named what was then called Rancho La Brea a National Natural Landmark. (photo courtesy of NHMLAC)

In honor of Rancho La Brea’s 60th anniversary as a National Natural Landmark, NHMLAC is sharing vintage documentation of the original milestone moment.

Now known better as La Brea Tar Pits, Rancho La Brea was one of the first National Natural Landmarks designated by the United States Department of the Interior on March 7, 1964. Alongside six other locations, the site was deemed significant due to its “natural quality and character, degree of dissimilarity to other sites, importance to education and science, reasonable invulnerability to deterioration and destruction, practicable size, availability and accessibility, and sympathetic and responsible ownership.”

“This metropolitan park contains several pits of natural asphalt in which Pleistocene animals became entrapped in their quest for fresh water,” wrote the Department of the Interior in a statement. “The pits are world-famous as the source of the largest and most diverse collection of Pleistocene fossils ever found and studied. Among the many fossils preserved are the ground sloth, saber-toothed tiger, and mammoth. These pits were discovered during the course of early Spanish explorations in this section of California.”

La Brea Tar Pits is located at 5801 Wilshire Blvd. For information, visit tarpits.org.