Land of the Lost

Searles Valley is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The CDP includes the unincorporated communities of Argus, Pioneer Point, Searles Valley and Trona. Searles Valley is at the western edge of Searles Lake, a dry lakebed at the bottom of in Searles... Valley, southwest of Death Valley. The name Trona is derived from the mineral trona, abundant in the lake. It is about 170 miles northeast of Los Angeles, on State Route 178. The population was 1,739 at the 2010 census. The ZIP code is 93562 and the area code 760. Searles Valley is known for its isolation and desolation. as well as the nearby Trona Pinnacles. The local school plays on a dirt football field because the high level of salt kills grass. Searles Valley is located at 35°45′55″N 117°22′58″W / 35.765181°N 117.382803°W / 35.765181; -117.382803 . According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 27.2 km , all land.
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Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley. It is listed by... U.S. News & World Report as one of the best places to retire in the US. Lancaster is located approximately 70 miles north of downtown Los Angeles in Southern California's Antelope Valley. It is separated from the Los Angeles Basin by the San Gabriel Mountain Range to the south and from Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley by the Tehachapi Mountain Range to the north. The population of Lancaster has grown from 37,000 residents at the time of incorporation in 1977, to 156,633 people as of the 2010 census, which makes it the largest city on the California side of the Mojave Desert. According to the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance report of 2009 the Palmdale / Lancaster, CA Urbanized Area has a population of 483,998. Long before white settlers arrived, Lancaster was originally home to the Piute Indians.
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The La Brea Tar Pits are a cluster of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed, in the urban heart of Los Angeles. Asphaltum or tar has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. The tar is often covered with dust, leaves, or water. Over many centuries, animals... that were trapped in the tar were preserved as bones. The George C. Page Museum is dedicated to researching the tar pits and displaying specimens from the animals that died there. The La Brea Tar Pits are now a registered National Natural Landmark. The La Brea Tar Pits and Hancock Park are situated within the Mexican land grant of Rancho La Brea, now a piece of urban Los Angeles, California, near the Miracle Mile district. Tar pits are composed of heavy oil fractions called asphaltum, which seeped from the earth as oil. In Hancock Park, crude oil seeps up along the 6th Street Fault from the Salt Lake Oil Field, which underlies much of the Fairfax District north of the park. The oil reaches the surface and forms pools at several locations in the park, becoming asphalt as the lighter fractions of the petroleum biodegrade.
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