The rich deposits discovered at Florissant Fossil Beds give us an unusually detailed look at life in an ancient North America. Over 50,000 specimens have been found representing over 1,700 different species of animals and plants. These impressions of prehistoric plants and animals are relatively young in geologic terms. The Florissant fossils hint at what life may have been like about 34 million years ago during the late Eocene Epoch.