Geology & Fossils
The Rocky Mountains, Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range region converge in Utah, whose rocks have a whale of a tale to tell about prehistoric America. Utah’s fabulous fossil heritage is evidenced by Dinosaur National Monument (shared with Colorado) and the candidates for adoption as Utah’s state fossil: The trilobite Elraitha dates back hundreds of millions of years to the Paleozoic Era. Championing the Ice Age were the short-faced bear and woolly mammoth. Representing a time span in between was the dinosaur Allosaurus, which terrorized Utah wildlife during the Jurassic Period.
Even Utah’s state fish, the Bonneville cutthroat trout, is a reminder of the prehistoric past. It recalls Lake Bonneville, which was a veritable inland sea during the Ice Age, when Utah’s climate was cooler and wetter. As the climate became more arid, Lake Bonneville shrank, leaving us one of the most famous symbols of the Great Basin — Great Salt Lake.
But Utah is best known for its dinosaurs, whose bones and tracks are found at Dinosaur National Monument, Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry and numerous other fossil sites. They include many of the best known giants of the Jurassic Period, such as the long-necked Diplodocus. Less well known, but fully appreciated by raptor fans in the land of the honeybee, is the dinosaur Utahraptor.
Fossils in Our Lives
Utah adopted another fossil — coal — as its state rock. This designation was probably appreciated most by residents of the communities of East Carbon (in Carbon County) and Coalville.
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