Question

Provide a brief 4-5 sentence narrative of how Utah has changed over the past 150 million years.

* Please be specific about Utah and how the climate, environment, plants and animals have changed over this time period.

Answer 1

Utah is a state in the western United States. It became the 45th state admitted to the U.S.Thousands of years before the arrival of European explorers, the Ancestral Puebloansand the Fremont people lived in what is now known as Utah, some of which spoke languages of the Uto-Aztecan group. Ancestral Pueblo peoples built their homes through excavations in mountains, and the Fremont people built houses of straw before disappearing from the region around the 15th century.

Utah features a dry, semi-arid to desert climate,although its many mountains feature a large variety of climates, with the highest points in the Uinta Mountainsbeing above the timberline.Utah's temperatures are extreme, with cold temperatures in winter due to its elevation, and very hot summers statewide (with the exception of mountain areas and high mountain valleys).

In eastern Utah petroleum production is a major industry.Near Salt Lake City, petroleum refining is done by a number of oil companies. In central Utah, coal production accounts for much of the mining activity.

Cold desert plants
Plants that live in the cold desert include the sego lily (Utah's state flower), bitterbrush, rabbit brush, and sage brush, and various types of grasses. Of course these are plants that are "native" to the cold desert. The Great Basin area has many more types of plants than it did two hundred years ago.

Animals living in the coniferous forest include many bird species such as the golden eagle, owl, Steller's jays, and hummingbirds.