The Wisconsin (in North America), Weichsel (in Scandinavia), Devensian (in the British Isles) or Würm glaciation (in the Alps) is the most recent period of the Ice Age, and ended some 10,000 Before Present (BP). The Wisconsin/Weichsel/Devensian/Würm glaciation began about 70,000 BP, and reached its maximum extent about 18,000 BP. In Europe, the ice sheet reached northern Germany. World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Scandinavia, Fennoscandia, and the Kola Peninsula. ... ... The Alps is the collective name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria in the east, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany, through to France in the west. ... Before Present is a year numbering system, used for the far past times, relating dates to the year 1950. ... The Last Glacial Maximum refers to the time of maximum extent of the ice sheets during the last glaciation, approximately 21 thousand years ago. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ...

Vegetation types at time of last glacial maximum.

The term ice age refers to all periods of glaciation during the Pleistocene, from 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 BP. In popular usage, 'the Ice Age' usually refers to this last cold phase. Last Glacial Maximum Vegetation Reconstructed vegetation cover at the Last Glacial Maximum period ~18,000 years ago, describing the type of vegetation cover present, based on fossil pollen samples recovered from lake and bog sediments. ... Last Glacial Maximum Vegetation Reconstructed vegetation cover at the Last Glacial Maximum period ~18,000 years ago, describing the type of vegetation cover present, based on fossil pollen samples recovered from lake and bog sediments. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... The Pleistocene Epoch is part of the geologic timescale, usually dated as 1. ...

Weichsel glaciation, in Scandinavia

In Scandinavia, only the western parts of Jutland (a part of Denmark) were ice-free during the glaciation and a large part of what is today the North Sea was dry land connecting Jutland with Britain. It is also in Denmark that the only finds of Scandinavian ice-age animals older than 13,000 BP are found. In the period following the last interglacial period before the current one (Eemian interglacial era) the coast of Norway was also ice-free. Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland, German: Jütland) is a peninsula in northern Europe that forms the continental part of Denmark and a northern part of Germany, dividing the North Sea from the Baltic Sea. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... The Eemian interglacial era (Sangamon era in North America) is the second-to-latest interglacial era of the Ice age. ...

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 about 7,000 BP. The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Eastern Europe and Central Europe, and the Danish islands. ... Vistula river basin Vistula (Polish Wisła), is the longest river in Poland. ...

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 meters in 100 years. This important for archeologists since a village that was coastal in the Stone Age now is inland. Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Stone Age fishing hook. ...

Devensian glaciation

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. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ...

It was the final glacial phase of the Pleistocene and 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 Ipswichian interglacial is a name for an interglacial period which occurred between 150,000 and 115,000 years ago. ... 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 Holocene, covering the period from around 10,000 years ago when the last ice age ended to the present day. ... The Holocene Epoch is a geologic period that extends from the present back about 10,000 radiocarbon years. ...

The latter part of the Devensian includes Pollen zones I-IV, the Allerød and Bølling Oscillations and the Dryas climatic stages. Pollen zones are a system of subdividing the late Pleistocene and early Holocene periods of prehistory using the data from pollen cores. ... The Allerød Oscillation is the name given to a brief temperature increase towards the end of the last Ice Age in Europe between c. ... The Bølling Oscillation was a brief warm period that occurred during the final stages of the last glaciation of Europe. ... In Greek mythology, Dryas was the son of King Lycurgus of Thrace. ...

Wisconsin glaciation, in North America

The Wisconsin or Wisconsinian was the last major advance of continental glaciers in North America. This glaciation is made of three glacial maximums (commonly called ice ages) separated by interglacial periods (such as the one we are living in). 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 while little is known about the Tenaya. The Tioga was the least severe and last of the Wisconsinan group and reached its greatest advance 20,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years before present (it started 30,000 years ago). At the height of glaciation the Bering land bridge permitted migration of mammals and humans to North America from Siberia. Austrias longest glacier, the Pasterze, winds its 8 km (5 mile) route at the foot of Austrias highest mountain, the Grossglockner A glacier is a large, long-lasting river of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Glaciation, often called an ice age, is a geological phenomenon in which massive ice sheets form in the Arctic and Antarctic and advance toward the equator. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... Glaciation, often called an ice age, is a geological phenomenon in which massive ice sheets form in the Arctic and Antarctic and advance toward the equator. ... The Bering land bridge, also known as Beringia, was a land bridge roughly 1600 km (1000 miles) north to south at its greatest extent, which joined present-day Alaska and eastern Siberia at various times during the ice ages. ...

It radically altered the geography of North America north of the Ohio River. At the height of the Wisconsin glaciation, ice covered most of Canada, the Upper Midwest, and New England, as well as parts of Montana and Washington. On Kelly's Island in Lake Erie or in New York's Central Park, the scour marks left by these glaciers can be easily observed. In southwestern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta a suture zone between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets formed the Cypress Hills, which are the northernmost point in North America that remained south of the continental ice sheets. The Ohio River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, 981 mi (1,579 km) long in the eastern United States. ... Midwest States (United States of America, ND to OH) The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... Modern New England, the six northeastern-most states of the United States, indicated by red The New England region of the United States is located in the northeastern corner of the country. ... State nickname: Treasure State Other U.S. States Capital Helena Largest city Billings Governor Brian Schweitzer Official languages English Area 381,156 km² (4th)  - Land 377,295 km²  - Water 3,862 km² (1%) Population (2000)  - Population 926,865 (44th)  - Density 2. ... State nickname: The Evergreen State Other U.S. States Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Governor Christine Gregoire Official languages None Area 184,824 km² (18th)  - Land 172,587 km²  - Water 12,237 km² (6. ... Lake Erie, looking southward from a high rural bluff near Leamington, Ontario Lake Erie is one of the five large freshwater Great Lakes in North America, the worlds largest such lakes. ... At Bethesda Terrace: formal stairs and a viewing platform for a naturalistic panorama beyond the Lake. ... 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 United States, between ~ 90,000 and ~ 18,000 years before the present day. ... An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 square kilometers (12 million acres). ... The Cypress Hills are a region of hills in southwestern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta, Canada. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ...

The Great Lakes are the result of pooling of glacial meltwater at the rim of the receding glaciers. 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 Great Lakes from space The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes on or near the United States-Canadian border. ... Isostasy is a term used in Geology to refer to the state of gravitational equilibrium between the Earths lithosphere and asthenosphere such that the tectonic plates float at an elevation which depends on their thickness and density. ... The Horseshoe Falls, one of the three Niagara Falls. ... The Teays River was an important pre-glacial river that drained much of the area now drained by the Ohio River, and more. ...

In its retreat, the Wisconsin glaciation left terminal moraines that form Long Island, Nantucket and Cape Cod, and the Oak Ridges Moraine in south central Ontario, Canada. The drumlins and eskers formed at its melting edge are landmarks of the Lower Connecticut River Valley. Moraine is the general term for debris of all sorts originally transported by glaciers or ice sheets that have since melted away. ... Image of Long Island taken by NASA. Long Island, part of New York State, is an island off the North American coast, some 118 miles (190 km) long, and from 12 to 20 miles (32 km) wide, extending from New York Harbor into the North Atlantic Ocean. ... Nantucket is an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, formed of glacial moraine. ... Cape Cod Cape Cod (1033 km²) is an arm-shaped peninsula forming the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. ... The Oak Ridges Moraine is a geographic area in southern Ontario, Canada stretching from Milton to Rice Lake, near Peterborough. ... Drumlin in Cato, New York A drumlin (Gaelic druim the crest of a hill) is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial action. ... Eskers are long, winding ridges of stratified sand and gravel which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America. ... The Connecticut River Valley is a long river valley formed by the Connecticut River stretching from The New Hampshire/Quebec border to Long Island Sound on the Connecticut Coast. ...

See also

• Timeline of glaciation

There have been four major periods of glaciation in the Earths past. ...

References

• Geology of National Parks: Fifth Edition, Ann G. 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 0226668126 (paperback 1992)