"Last glacial" redirects here. For the period of maximum glacier extent during this time, see Last Glacial Maximum

"Last ice age" redirects here. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM refers to the time of maximum extent of the Ice sheets during the last Glaciation (the Würm or Wisconsin glaciation) approximately See also ice age (disambiguation).

The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age, occurring in the Pleistocene epoch. A glacial period is an interval of time within an Ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and Glacier advances The Pleistocene ('plaɪstəsin is the epoch from 18 million to 10000 years BP covering the world's recent period It began about 110,000 years ago and ended between 10,000 and 15,000 BP. Before Present (BP years are a time scale used in Archaeology, Geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred During this period there were several changes between glacier advance and retreat. The maximum extent of glaciation was approximately 18,000 years ago. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM refers to the time of maximum extent of the Ice sheets during the last Glaciation (the Würm or Wisconsin glaciation) approximately "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. While the general pattern of global cooling and glacier advance was similar, local differences in the development of glacier advance and retreat make it difficult to compare the details from continent to continent (see picture of ice core data below for differences).

The last glacial period is sometimes colloquially referred to as the last ice age, though this use is incorrect because an ice age is a longer period of cold temperature in which ice sheets cover large parts of the Earth. An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets An ice sheet is a mass of Glacier Ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50000 km² (20000 mile²) Glacials, on the other hand, refer to colder phases within an ice age that separate interglacials. An interglacial is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature that separates Glacial periods within an Ice age. Thus, the end of the last glacial period is not the end of the last ice age. The end of the last glacial period was about 12,500 years ago, while the end of the last ice age has not yet come: little evidence points to a stop of the glacial-interglacial cycle of the last million years.

The last glacial period is the best-known part of the current ice age, and has been intensively studied in North America, northern Eurasia, the Himalaya and other formerly glaciated regions around the world. The glaciations that occurred during this glacial period covered many areas, mainly on the Northern Hemisphere and - to a lesser extent - on the Southern Hemisphere. Northern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is North of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' Southern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is South of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' They have different names, historically developed and depending on their geographic distributions: Fraser, Pinedale, Wisconsin (in North America), Devensian (in the British Isles), Midlandian (in Ireland), Würm (in the Alps), Weichsel (or Vistula, in northern Central Europe), Valdai in Eastern Europe and Zyryanka in Siberia, Llanquihue in Chile and Otira in New Zealand. The British Isles (Irish variously Na hOileáin Bhriotanacha, Oileáin Iarthair Eorpa, Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór; Ellanyn Goaldagh Eileanan Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island

Overview

Vegetation types at time of last glacial maximum. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM refers to the time of maximum extent of the Ice sheets during the last Glaciation (the Würm or Wisconsin glaciation) approximately

Last glacial period, as seen in ice core data from Antarctica and Greenland

The last glaciation centered on the huge ice sheets of North America and Eurasia. An ice core is a Core sample from the accumulation of snow and ice over many years that have re-crystallized and have trapped air bubbles from previous time periods Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the Considerable areas in the Alps, the Himalaya and the Andes were ice-covered, and Antarctica remained glaciated.

Canada was nearly completely covered by ice, as well as the northern part of the USA, both blanketed by the huge Laurentide ice sheet. The Laurentide Ice Sheet was a massive sheet of ice that covered hundreds of thousands of square miles including most of Canada and a large portion of the northern Alaska remained mostly ice free due to arid climate conditions. In general terms the Climate of a local or region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available Water, to the extent of hindering Local glaciations existed in the Rocky Mountains, the Cordilleran ice sheet and as ice fields and ice caps in the Sierra Nevada in northern California. Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America. The Cordilleran ice sheet was a major Ice sheet that covered during glacial periods of the Quaternary, a large area of North America. An ice field (also spelled icefield) is an area less than 50000 km² (19305 mile²) of Ice often found in the colder climates and higher altitudes An ice cap is an Ice mass that covers less than 50 000 km² of land area (usually covering a highland area ^[1] In Britain, mainland Europe and northwestern Asia, the Scandinavian ice sheet once again reached the northern parts of the British Isles, Germany, Poland and Russia, extending as far east as the Taimyr Peninsula in western Siberia. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Taymyr Peninsula (Полуостров Таймыр Таймырский полуостров is a peninsula in Siberia that forms the most northern part of mainland Asia ^[2] Maximum extent of western Siberian glaciation was approximately 18,000 to 17,000 BP and thus later than in Europe (22,000 - 18,000 BP). ^[3] Northeastern Siberia was not covered by ice. ^[4] The Arctic Ocean between the huge ice sheets of America and Eurasia was not frozen throughout, but like today probably was only covered by relatively thin ice, subject to seasonal changes and riddled with icebergs calving from the surrounding ice sheets. The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater Ice that has broken off from a snow-formed Glacier or Ice shelf and is floating in open water According to the sediment composition retrieved from deep-sea cores there must even have been times of seasonally open waters. ^[5]

Outside the main ice sheets widespread glaciation occurred on the Alps - Himalaya mountain chain. In contrast to the earlier glacial stages the Würm glaciation was composed of smaller ice caps and mostly confined to valley glaciers, sending glacial lobes into the Alpine forland. To the east the Caucasus and the mountains of Turkey and Iran were capped by local ice fields or small ice sheets. The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. ^[6],[7] In the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau glaciers advanced considerably, particularly between 47,000-27,000 BP^[8] and in contrast to the widespread contemporaneous warming elsewhere. The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai-Tibetan (Qingzang Plateau is a vast elevated Plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous ^[9] The formation of a contiguous ice sheet on the Tibetan Plateau is controversial. ^[10]

Other areas of the Northern Hemisphere did not bear extensive ice sheets but local glaciers in high areas. Parts of Taiwan for example were repeatedly glaciated between 44,250 and 10,680 BP^[11] as well as the Japanese Alps. Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. The is a series of Mountain ranges in Japan that bisect the main island of Honshū. In both areas maximum glacier advance occurred between 60,000 and 30,000 BP. ^[12] To a still lesser extent glaciers did exist in Africa, for example in the High Atlas, the Mountains of Morocco, the Mount Atakor massif in southern Algeria and several mountains in Ethiopia. High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas Mountains (الاطلس الكبير and Haut Atlas is a Mountain range in central Morocco Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Already on the Southern Hemisphere, an ice cap of several hundred square kilometers was present on the east African mountains in the Kilimandjaro Massif, Mount Kenya and the Ruwenzori Mountains, still bearing remnants of glaciers today. Mount Kenya is the highest Mountain in Kenya, and the second highest in Africa (after Mount Kilimanjaro) ^[13]

Glaciation of the Southern Hemisphere was less extensive because of current continent configuration. Ice sheets existed in the Andes (Patagonian Ice Sheet), where six glacier advances between 33,500 and 13,900 BP in the Chilean Andes have been reported. An ice sheet is a mass of Glacier Ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50000 km² (20000 mile²) The Patagonian Ice Sheet was a large elongated and narrow Ice sheet that covered all of Chile south of approximately present-day Puerto Montt during the ^[14] Antarctica was entirely glaciated, much like today, but the ice sheet left no uncovered area. In mainland Australia only a very small area in the vicinity of Mount Kosciuszko was glaciated, whereas Tasmania glaciation was more widespread. Mount Kosciuszko is a Mountain located in the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park. Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass ^[15] New Zealand saw a glaciation in the New Zealand Alps, where at least three glacier advances can be distinguished. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island ^[16] Local ice caps existed in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, where in three ice areas remnants of the Pleistocene glaciers are still preserved today. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. ^[17]

Named local glaciations

Pinedale or Fraser glaciation, in the Rocky Mountains

The Pinedale (central Rocky Mountains) or Fraser (Cordilleran ice sheet) glaciation was the last of the major ice ages to appear in the Rocky Mountains in the United States. An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America. The Pinedale lasted from approximately 30,000 to 10,000 years ago and was at its greatest extent between 23,500 and 21,000 years ago. ^[18] This glaciation was somewhat distinct from the main Wisconsin glaciation as it was only loosely related to the giant ice sheets and was instead composed of mountain glaciers, merging into the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. The Cordilleran ice sheet was a major Ice sheet that covered during glacial periods of the Quaternary, a large area of North America. ^[19] The Cordilleran ice sheet produced features such as glacial Lake Missoula, which would break free from its ice dam causing the massive Missoula floods. Glacial Lake Missoula was a prehistoric Proglacial lake in western Montana that existed periodically at the end of the last Ice age between 15000 and 13000 The Missoula Floods (also known as the Spokane Floods or the Bretz Floods) refer to the cataclysmic Floods that swept periodically across eastern Washington Geologists estimate that the cycle of flooding and reformation of the lake lasted on average of 55 years and that the floods occurred approximately 40 times over the 2,000 year period between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago. ^[20] Glacial lake outburst floods such as these are not uncommon today in Iceland and other places. A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF can occur when a lake contained by a glacier (called Jökulhlaup if it was a Subglacial lake, Marginal lake drainage Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland (

Wisconsin glaciation, in North America

The Wisconsin Glacial Episode was the last major advance of continental glaciers in the North American Laurentide ice sheet. "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. The Laurentide Ice Sheet was a massive sheet of ice that covered hundreds of thousands of square miles including most of Canada and a large portion of the northern This glaciation is made of three glacial maxima (commonly called ice ages) separated by interglacial periods (such as the one we are living in). "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. An interglacial is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature that separates Glacial periods within an Ice age. These ice ages are called, from oldest to youngest, Tahoe, Tenaya and Tioga. The Tahoe reached its maximum extent perhaps about 70,000 years ago, perhaps as a byproduct of the Toba super eruption. Lake Toba ( Danau Toba) is a Lake and Supervolcano, 100 km long and 30 km wide and 505 m Little is known about the Tenaya. The Tioga was the least severe and last of the Wisconsin Episode. It began about 30,000 years ago, reached its greatest advance 20,000 years ago, and ended about 10,000 years ago. At the height of glaciation the Bering land bridge permitted migration of mammals such as humans to North America from Siberia. The Bering land bridge was a Land bridge roughly 1000 miles (1600 km north to south at its greatest extent which joined present-day Alaska and eastern Siberia

It radically altered the geography of North America north of the Ohio River. The Ohio River is the largest Tributary by volume of the Mississippi River. At the height of the Wisconsin Episode glaciation, ice covered most of Canada, the Upper Midwest, and New England, as well as parts of Montana and Washington. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page History See also History of New England New England's earliest inhabitants were Algonquian -speaking Native Americans including the Montana ( is a state in the Western United States. One-third of the state in the western part contains numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named of the northern Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. On Kelleys Island in Lake Erie or in New York's Central Park, the grooves left by these glaciers can be easily observed. There is also a Kelly's Island in Newfoundland, Canada. Kelleys Island is both a village in Erie Lake Erie (ˈɪəriː is the fourth largest Lake (by surface area of the five Great Lakes, and the tenth largest globally Central Park is a large public Urban park in New York City, with about twenty-five million visitors annually Glacial striations or glacial grooves are scratches or gouges cut into Bedrock by process of glacial abrasion. In southwestern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta a suture zone between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets formed the Cypress Hills, which is the northernmost point in North America that remained south of the continental ice sheets. The Laurentide Ice Sheet was a massive sheet of ice that covered hundreds of thousands of square miles including most of Canada and a large portion of the northern The Cordilleran ice sheet was a major Ice sheet that covered during glacial periods of the Quaternary, a large area of North America. An ice sheet is a mass of Glacier Ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50000 km² (20000 mile²)

The Great Lakes are the result of glacial scour and pooling of meltwater at the rim of the receding ice. The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border. When the enormous mass of the continental ice sheet retreated, the Great Lakes began gradually moving south due to isostatic rebound of the north shore. Niagara Falls is also a product of the glaciation, as is the course of the Ohio River, which largely supplanted the prior Teays River. The Niagara Falls are massive Waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the international border separating the Canadian province of Ontario The Teays River (teɪz taze   was an important preglacial river that drained much of the area now drained by the Ohio River, and more

With the assistance of several very large glacial lakes, it carved the gorge now known as the Upper Mississippi River, filling into the Driftless Area and probably creating an annual ice-dam-burst. For the song see CANYONMID. For the band see Canyon (band. A canyon (rarely cañon) or gorge WikipediaCiting sources --> See also Mississippi River The Upper Mississippi The Driftless Area or Paleozoic Plateau is a region in the American Midwest noted mainly for its deeply carved river valleys

In its retreat, the Wisconsin Episode glaciation left terminal moraines that form Long Island, Nantucket and Cape Cod, and the Oak Ridges Moraine in south central Ontario, Canada. Moraine refers to any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris (soil and rock which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions such as those Long Island is an island located in southeastern New York, USA, its western shores directly across from Manhattan, from which the island stretches Cape Cod (or simply the Cape to most New Englanders is a Peninsula nearly coextensive with Barnstable County Massachusetts and forming the easternmost The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically sensitive geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south central Ontario, Canada. In Wisconsin itself, it left the Kettle Moraine. Kettle Moraine is a large Moraine in the state of Wisconsin stretching from Walworth County in the south to Kewaunee County in the north The drumlins and eskers formed at its melting edge are landmarks of the Lower Connecticut River Valley. A drumlin (Irish droimnín, a little hill ridge is an elongated whale-shaped Hill formed by glacial action An esker is a long winding ridge of Stratified Sand and Gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of The Connecticut River Valley stretches from the New Hampshire and Quebec border to Long Island Sound on the Connecticut coast

Greenland glaciation

In Northwest Greenland, ice coverage attained a very early maximum in the last glacial period around 114,000. After this early maximum, the ice coverage was similar to today until the end of the last glacial period. Towards the end glaciers readvanced once more before retreating to their present extent. ^[21] According to ice core data, the Greenland climate was dry during the last glacial period, precipitation reaching perhaps only 20% of today's value. ^[22]

Devensian glaciation, in the British Isles

The name Devensian glaciation is used by British geologists and archaeologists and refers to what is often popularly meant by the latest Ice Age. A geologist is a contributor to the Science of Geology, studying the physical structure and processes of the Earth and planets of the solar system Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets

The effects of the this glaciation can be seen in many geological features of England, Scotland and northern Ireland. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Its deposits have been found overlying material from the preceding Ipswichian interglacial and lying beneath those from the following Flandrian stage of the Holocene. The Eemian interglacial era, now known as the Eemian Stage is temporally equivalent to the Sangamon Stage in North America, the Ipswichian Stage in The Flandrian interglacial or stage is the name given by Geologists and Archaeologists in the British Isles to the first and so far only stage of the The Holocene is a Geological epoch which began approximately 10000 years ago (about 8000 BC

The latter part of the Devensian includes Pollen zones I-IV, the Allerød and Bølling Oscillations and the Older and Younger Dryas climatic stages. Pollen zones are a system of subdividing late Pleistocene and early Holocene paleoclimate using the data from Pollen cores The sequence provides a The Allerød period is a part of a temperature oscillation toward the end of the last Glaciation, during which temperatures in the northern Atlantic region rose from The Bølling Oscillation was a warm period that occurred during the final stages of the last Glaciation of Europe. The Older Dryas was a somewhat variable cold dry Blytt-Sernander period of North Europe, roughly equivalent to Pollen zone 1c The Younger Dryas Stadial, named after the alpine / tundra wildflower Dryas octopetala, and also referred to as the Big Freeze, was a brief (approximately

Weichsel glaciation, in Scandinavia and northern Europe

During the glacial maximum in Scandinavia, only the western parts of Jutland were ice-free, and a large part of what is today the North Sea was dry land connecting Jutland with Britain. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM refers to the time of maximum extent of the Ice sheets during the last Glaciation (the Würm or Wisconsin glaciation) approximately This article is about the region of Denmark. For the World War I naval battle see Battle of Jutland. The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. It is also in Denmark that the only Scandinavian ice-age animals older than 13,000 BC are found. In the period following the last interglacial before the current one (Eemian interglacial era), the coast of Norway was also ice-free. An interglacial is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature that separates Glacial periods within an Ice age. The Eemian interglacial era, now known as the Eemian Stage is temporally equivalent to the Sangamon Stage in North America, the Ipswichian Stage in Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional

The Baltic Sea, with its unique brackish water, is a result of meltwater from the Weichsel glaciation combining with saltwater from the North Sea when the straits between Sweden and Denmark opened. The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. Initially, when the ice began melting about 10,300 ybp, seawater filled the isostatically depressed area, a temporary marine incursion that geologists dub the Yoldia Sea. Before Present (BP years are a time scale used in Archaeology, Geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred Isostasy (Greek isos = "equal" stásis = "standstill" is a term used in Geology to refer to the state of gravitational equilibrium between the Mean sea level (MSL is the average (mean height of the Sea, with reference to a suitable reference surface Yoldia Sea is a name given by geologists to a variable Brackish -water stage in the Baltic Sea basin that prevailed after the Baltic ice lake was drained Then, as post-glacial isostatic rebound lifted the region about 9500 ybp, the deepest basin of the Baltic became a freshwater lake, in palaeological contexts referred to as Ancylus Lake, which is identifiable in the freshwater fauna found in sediment cores. Post-glacial rebound (sometimes called continental rebound, isostatic rebound, isostatic adjustment or post-ice-age isostatic recovery) Ancylus lake is a name given by geologists to the body of fresh water that replaced the Yoldia Sea after the latter had been severed from its saline intake across central The lake was filled by glacial runoff, but as worldwide sea level continued rising, saltwater again breached the sill about 8000 ybp, forming a marine Littorina Sea which was followed by another freshwater phase before the present brackish marine system was established. Littorina Sea (also Litorina Sea) is a geological Brackish -water stage of the Baltic Sea, which existed around 7500–4000 BP and followed the "At its present state of development, the marine life of the Baltic Sea is less than about 4000 years old," Drs. Thulin and Andrushaitis remarked when reviewing these sequences in 2003.

Overlaying ice had exerted pressure on the Earth's surface. As a result of melting ice, the land has continued to rise yearly in Scandinavia, mostly in northern Sweden and Finland where the land is rising at a rate of as much as 8–9 mm per year, or 1 meter in 100 years. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. This is important for archaeologists since a site that was coastal in the Nordic Stone Age now is inland. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos The Nordic Stone Age refers to the Stone Age of Scandinavia. Late Upper Paleolithic See also Upper Paleolithic As the ice receded

Würm glaciation, in the Alps

The term Würm is derived from a river in the Alpine foreland, approximately marking the maximum glacier advance of this particular glacial period. For the glaciaton see Würm glaciation. The Würm is a River in Bavaria, Germany, right tributary of the The Alps have been the area where first systematic scientific research on ice ages has been conducted by Louis Agassiz in the beginning of the 19th century. Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( May 28 1807 — December 14 1873) was a Swiss - American Zoologist, Glaciologist Here the Würm glaciation of the last glacial period was intensively studied. Pollen analysis, the statistical analyses of microfossilized plant pollens found in geological deposits, has chronicled the dramatic changes in the European environment during the Würm glaciation. Palynology is the science that studies contemporary and fossil Palynomorphs including Pollen, Spores, Dinoflagellate Cysts Acritarchs Micropaleontology (also sometimes spelled as micropalaeontology) is that branch of Paleontology which studies microfossils During the height of Würm glaciation, ca 24,000–10,000 ybp, most of western and central Europe and Eurasia was open steppe-tundra, while the Alps presented solid ice fields and montane glaciers. An ice field (also spelled icefield) is an area less than 50000 km² (19305 mile²) of Ice often found in the colder climates and higher altitudes Scandinavia and much of Britain were under ice.

During the Würm, the Rhône Glacier covered the whole western Swiss plateau, reaching today's regions of Solothurn and Aarau. The Rhône Glacier is the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in In the region of Bern it merged with the Aar glacier. The Rhine glacier is currently the subject of the most detailed studies. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge Glaciers of the Reuss and the Limmat advanced sometimes as far as the Jura. Montane and piedmont glaciers formed the land by grinding away virtually all traces of the older Günz and Mindel glaciation, by depositing base moraines and terminal moraines of different retraction phases and loess deposits, and by the pro-glacial rivers' shifting and redepositing gravels. Loess is a homogeneous typically non stratified porous Friable,slightly coherent often calcareous fine-grained Silty pale yellow or buff windblown ( aeolian Beneath the surface, they had profound and lasting influence on geothermal heat and the patterns of deep groundwater flow. In Geology, geothermal refers to heat sources within the planet

Antarctica glaciation

Modelled maximum extent of the Antarctic ice sheet 21,000 years before present

During the last glacial period Antarctica was blanketed by a massive ice sheet, much like it is today. The ice covered all land areas and probably extended into the ocean. According to ice modelling, ice over central East Antarctica was generally thinner than today. ^[23]

References

Further reading

• Geology of National Parks: Fifth Edition, Ann G. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. Harris, Esther Tuttle, Sherwood D. Tuttle (Iowa, Kendall/Hunt Publishing; 1997) ISBN 0-7872-5353-7
• E. C. Pielou 1991. After the Ice Age : The Return of Life to Glaciated North America (University Of Chicago Press) ISBN 0-226-66812-6 (paperback 1992)

See also

• Glacial history of Minnesota
• Timeline of glaciation
• Valparaiso Moraine

External links

• National Atlas of the USA: Wisconsin Glaciation in North America: Present state of knowledge