earth-pitch

Updated: May 22, 2025

The frequent occurrence of earthquakes and other indications of volcanic action in those parts, lend countenance to the opinion that these vegetable substances may have undergone, by the agency of subterranean fire, those transformations or chemical changes which produce petroleum; and this may, by the same causes, be forced up to the surface, where, by exposure to the air, it becomes inspissated, and forms those different varieties of earth-pitch or asphaltum so abundant in the island."

Edward A. Martin - The Story of a Piece of Coal: What It Is, Whence It Comes, and Whither It Goes