San Timoteo Canyon is rich with fossils and artifacts that are still being discovered. In 2010 alone, over 1,450 fossils were unearthed in the canyon, including a prehistoric horse, a new species of deer, and a saber-tooth cat.
Most of the fossils found in the canyon were from the Pleistocene (more commonly known as Ice Age) deposits. The fossil beds themselves show that the creatures were once living beside pools of water. Animals uncovered from these ancient pools primarily consist of prehistoric horses, rodents, sloths, deer, and camels. Very rarely, a bone from a saber-tooth tiger is found.
Most of the fossils are now on display at the Western Science Center museum in Hemet, including a bone from a prehistoric horse with a tell-tale bite mark. . . and a saber-tooth cat skull uncovered not too far away. Of course, this does not confirm that the cat bit the horse, but paleontologists aren’t ruling out the possibility.
Paleontologists are still hard at work within these fossil beds, uncovering the past and bringing it back into the light.
At Herngt ‘Aki’ Preserve, a paleontological fossil bed includes mostly root casts and indicates intervals of ponded water in the area. According to archaeologists, the fossil bed is intact but no significant fossils have been observed.
- Discovery highlights and destinations
No paleontological sites in San Timoteo and Live Oak Canyons are designated or open to the public. Careful research indicates that the two canyons, with their natural water resources, provided habitat for prehistoric animals.