Plant and animal fossils from Cambrian through Pleistocene eras tell a rich tale of evolving lifeforms from the crab-like trilobite to the huge mastedon. Notable in Utah's ancient history is the abundance of dinosaur that once roamed the region. Fossils from these two quarries are on display and being studied in museums and universities around the world. Perhaps the greatest influence on the state's topography is ancient Lake Bonneville. Hikers along Utah's Wasatch Front can still find fossilized shoreline evidence of the great lake that once covered most of Utah and portions of Idaho and Nevada.
Geologists believe the lake originated during the last ice age.
Its shores have yielded the remains of mammoth, musk ox, ancestral camel, horse, deer and mountain sheep that once roamed the area. These people were most likely the first humans to traverse Utah. The first evidence of habitation in the state has been found in ancient caves in Utah's foothills. Ten thousand year-old flint points, scrapers and knives are tools left behind by primitive hunters. These farmers were the first stationary residents in Utah.