What is the origin of the asphalt lake? How did asphalt come about? What is Asphalt Lake?

The lake in our memory should be blue, set in the ground like a giant sapphire. The blue sky and white clouds are reflected on it, and when a breeze blows, the lake will ripple like a huge flower. The worst lake is also green, so have you ever seen a black lake?

Of course, it's not a lake that turns black after being polluted, but a natural black lake. Natural asphalt lakes are such strange lakes.

The natural asphalt lake is located at the southeastern tip of the famous Caribbean Sea, a beautiful island nation of Trinidad. The natural asphalt lake is like a kind of "treasure lake" in the fairy tale we watch, and the asphalt in it is inexhaustible. Even though it is mined every year, there is no decrease in the amount of asphalt in it.

Since it was mined in 1870, the level of the lake has barely dropped, which is a miraculous phenomenon.

The natural asphalt lake is made entirely of asphalt, the surface of the lake is dark and swarthy, and the whole surface of the lake looks like a huge black mirror from a distance, glittering. The asphalt of the lake is dry and hard, and not only pedestrians but even cars can drive on it.

The bitumen in the magical natural asphalt lake is no different from ordinary bitumen, and the density of bitumen is the same as other properties. But how did this large asphalt lake come about?

With the progress of society, the development of science and technology. The cause has now been identified, and the formation of natural asphalt lakes is due to the rupture of rock formations due to crustal changes in ancient times. Underground oil and natural gas overflowed, and some substances such as sediment were combined into asphalt, and after a long time of accumulation and hardening, the current natural asphalt was formed.

The largest natural asphalt lake in the world is the Trinidad asphalt lake, which has a better texture than ordinary asphalt, high mechanical stability and strong adhesion. The natural asphalt lake is definitely a "treasure lake".

Bitumen is a complex black-brown mixture of hydrocarbons of different molecular weights and their non-metallic derivatives, which is a kind of high-viscosity organic liquid, which is liquid and has a black surface and is soluble in carbon disulfide. Asphalt is an organic cementitious material that is waterproof, moisture-proof and anti-corrosion. Asphalt can be mainly divided into three types: coal coke asphalt, petroleum asphalt and natural asphalt

Among them, coal coke asphalt is a by-product of coking. Petroleum bitumen is the residue after distillation. Natural bitumen is stored underground, and some form layers or accumulate on the surface of the earth's crust.

Asphalt is mainly used in coatings, plastics, rubber and other industries, as well as paving roads.

Asphalt Lake generally refers to Lake Piech.

Lake Piech is a natural asphalt lake located in Rabea, southwest of the island of Trinidad. There is not a drop of water in this lake, but some of it is natural asphalt, so people call it asphalt lake. Lake Beech is considered a tourist attraction and attracts around 20,000 visitors every year.

It has been likened to a "bad parking lot" and has been called "the ugliest tourist destination in the Caribbean".

Asphalt can be divided into two types according to the source of production: ground asphalt (including natural asphalt and petroleum asphalt) and tar asphalt (including coal asphalt and shale asphalt).

The asphalt we usually talk about is mainly petroleum asphalt, which is a large molecular weight residue left after artificial distillation. Lake asphalt is a kind of natural asphalt, which is formed by the long-term extrusion of oil in nature by the earth's crust and gradual change in contact with air and water. It must be refined before use.

It can be used to make petroleum asphalt and black baking paint, used in coatings, varnishes, battery boxes, brake pads.

and printing inks. Most of them are used for paving general road surfaces.

1. The largest natural asphalt lake in Central and North America is located in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (hereinafter referred to as "Trinidad and Tobago"), which is a bitumen lake in the southwest of the island of Trinidad. There is not a drop of water in this lake, but there is natural asphalt, so people call it "asphalt lake".

2. Trinidad and Tobago have the world's largest natural asphalt lake with an area of about 47 hectares and an estimated reserve of 12 million tons. The magic of this lake is that the asphalt in the lake is "inexhaustible". Since 1870, people have been mining for more than 100 years, taking 90 million tons of asphalt, and the lake has not been reduced by hail.

The asphalt lake is due to the phenomenon of land subsidence, the overflow of oil and natural gas from the underground sedan car base, and the combination of materials on the ground. Some geologists believe that the lake was originally an extinct volcano, and that the lake was formed after oil and gas were mixed with soft mud flows and other materials under the ground for a long time, and then poured into the extinct crater.

It is said that the asphalt lake was first discovered by a British explorer named Walter Reilly. In 1595, when he sailed to the south coast of Trinidad, he noticed a black substance coming out of the sand on the shore. When he applied the substance to the cracks in the hull, he found that it worked well against leaks.

He was so overjoyed that he recorded the correct finding in his nautical diary. Europeans knew about the huge asphalt lake and exploited it in a predatory way after the 19th century. In fact, many years before that, the local Indians discovered the wonderful use of bitumen.

A few years ago, archaeologists excavated a buried village in the area, and found that the Indians who lived here began to use asphalt to make fires for heating more than 1,000 years ago. It should be said that they were the first discoverers of the asphalt lake in the mountains, and Walter Reilly was only the first to write about the asphalt lake.

The asphalt in the asphalt lake is hardened by the sun and allows people to walk on it.