What is the name of the famous fossil site in Los Angeles known for Ice Age mammals?

The famous fossil site in Los Angeles known for Ice Age mammals is the La Brea Tar Pits.

Located in Hancock Park, the site consists of natural asphalt seeps where petroleum rose from underground over tens of thousands of years. Animals became trapped in the sticky asphalt, and their remains were unusually well preserved. The deposits are particularly famous for Ice Age mammals including saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, mammoths, American lions, and ground sloths.

The site is not simply a single pool of tar: it originally contained more than 100 separate pits, though many were filled after urban development. Fossil research began in earnest in the early twentieth century, after geologist W. W. Orcutt recognized that prehistoric bones were preserved in the asphalt in 1901. Contemporary excavations began in 1913.

The name can cause confusion because “brea” is Spanish for asphalt or pitch. The La Brea Tar Pits also preserve plants, insects, pollen, and other microfossils, helping scientists reconstruct the cooler, wetter environment of Ice Age Los Angeles.