Ice Age Animals, California

Part of Hall of North American Mammals.

Model depicting a prehistoric scene with mammoths and other animals with water and mountains in the background.

San Jacinto Mountains, California

During the last ice age, California was well south of where the ice sheets stopped. Much of the ice-free land was cooler than today, and too dry for forest growth. 

NAM DF_ice age california
© AMNH/D. Finnin
Map showing the geographic range of ice sheets in Greenland and North America during an Ice Age and additional information about ice ages.
Line illustration of mini diorama depicting ice age animals with callouts to various animals (condor, sabertooth cat, etc.) with short descriptions.
© AMNH/D. Finnin