Archaeology, water centers prepare to open at Diamond Valley

Long before tract homes and mini-malls covered the land, mastodons and other creatures roamed Riverside County.

Among the inhabitants was a mastodon now known as Max. The remains of the largest mastodon ever discovered in the western United States were unearthed during construction of Diamond Valley Lake and they will be a centerpiece of a museum slated to open next month.

The Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology will house many of the almost 1 million specimens unearthed during construction of the reservoir.