Guanoco Lake (Bermudez Lake or Pitch Lake), Venezuela.

Guanoco Lake also known as Bermudez Lake or Largo La Brea (the Lake of Pitch) is a natural Pitch Lake found in Venezuela. One of natures wonders, Guanoco Lake is the largest Pitch Lake (Asphalt Lake) in area size in the world. Natural Tar Pits are found around the Earth but none as large as Venezuela's Bermudez Lake.

The so-called Bermudez Lake lies between the edge of a swamp and the foothills near Guariquen in what might be termed a savanna, says Richardson. The “lake”, wrote Richardson, has “an irregular-shaped surface with a width of about a mile and a half form north to south and about a mile east and west. Its area is a little more than 900 acres, and it is covered with sparse vegetation, grass, and shrubs, and occasional groves of large palms, called morichales.
Pitch (Asphalt) Lakes of Trinidad, Venezuela, and California

The Asphalt War 1901 - Bermudez Lake

Bermudez Lake, now called Guanoco Lake, is full of the purest natural pitch/asphalt in the world. This Asphalt Lake was of such commercial importance that the "Asphalt War" in 1901 was fought over it during the Venezuelan conflict. Guanoco Lake is located at 10°11'48"N 62°52'10"W.

Largo La Brea - the Lake of Pitch

Guanoco Lake is different to other Pitch Lakes in that it is covered with vegetation and plant life. This is why you will not find many photographs of Guanoco Lake. This Asphalt Lake is found at a similar latitude to the more famous Pitch Lake (La Brea) on the Island of Trinidad in the West Indies. The one in Trinidad is not that far away from Guanoco Lake. Both Pitch Lakes continually produce water and tar, never seem to overflow and replenishing/refill themselves quickly.

There are other Pitch Lakes and Tar Pits around the world, these include the 2 most famous ones - Pitch Lake, Trinidad and La Brea "Tar Pits", Los Angeles, California, USA.

Forum DIScussion on the worlds Pitch/Asphalt Lakes with a lot more information and links about Guanoco Lake Venezuela and Pitch Lake Trinidad