Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country.
Genesis 14:10 (NASB)
The writers of Genesis 11 seem to have intended for us to view the land of Shinar like Mordor.
The Tower of Babel was built with kiln-fired bricks and mortared with bitumen, which bubbled up from the ground like tar.
The scene is of soot, tar, and flames.