Binagadi asphalt lake
The Binagadi asphalt lake (or Binagadi tar pits;
This ancient flora and fauna deposit is protected by the State as a monument of a nature of the special significance pursuant to the Decree of the Government of Azerbaijan Republic No. 167 of March 16, 1982.[1]
Geography of the area
The Binagady locality is on the crest of a hill 0.5 km southeast of the settlement of Binagady, and 7 km north of Baku. The coast at its closest is 10 km to the south and 25 km to the north.[2]
The bone-bearing area comprises approximately 1.5 hectares and is located on a hilltop near the Kyrrar hill. The area is 54–57 m above present sea level, and 48 m above the level of Lake Boyukshor. An ancient mud volcano (Kichik-Dag) lies north of the fossiliferous area; further to the north is the meridionally elongated, saline Lake Masazyr (Mirdalyabi) and to the northeast Lake Binagady. To the east is the saline depression Kariatakh-Shor, beyond which rises the Balakhany Plateau. Extending from the Binagady hill are oil-bearing Salinas and the saline Lake Beyuk-Shor, which stretches far to the southeast.[2]
Natural-Historical Museum
The Binagadi fauna and flora deposit has been suggested to be richer by number of Quaternary animal fossil than the Californian La Brea Tar Pits.[1] The Binagadi deposit is important in studying the paleobiology of entire Caucasus, Middle East, and the European part of NIS countries.[1]
Discovery and first excavations
The locality was discovered in 1938 by a student, Mastan-Zade, who was studying the
References
- ^ a b c "Binegadi" 4th Period Fauna and Flora Deposit
- ^ a b c N. K. Vereshchagin. The mammals of the Caucasus: a History of the Evolution of the Fauna. — Israel Program for Scientific Translations, 1967. — 816 pages
Sources
- Huseynov, Said; Harris, John M. (December 1, 2010). "Azerbaijan's fossil cemetery: ice-age animals fell victim to an Asian version of California's La Brea Tar Pits". Natural History. pp. 16–21.