The Great Ice Age

The Great Ice Age, a recent chapter in the Earth's history, was a period of recurring widespread glaciations. Mountain glaciers formed on all continents, the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland were more extensive and thicker than today, and vast glaciers, in places as much as several thousand feet thick, spread across North America and Eurasia. This ice age, the most recent in the history of the Earth, took place from 20 million years to 6 thousand years ago (Quaternary Period). The development of our understanding and the evidence for this worldwide event are covered in this United States Geological Survey (USGS) publication. Educational levels: General public