The Wisconsin glaciation was the most recent ice age, extending as far south as California, France, and Poland. It began 70,000 years ago, reaching its peak 18,000 years ago. Glaciers shaped many geological features, including valleys and the Baltic Sea. Humans adapted to the frozen environment by wearing animal skins and using fire, and lived alongside Neanderthals until they went extinct 33,000 to 24,000 years ago.
The Wisconsin glaciation (also known as the Devensian, Midlandian, Würm, and Weichsel glaciation in different areas of the world) was the last ice age, during which glaciers extended as far south as present-day California, New York, France, Germany, and Poland. Most of Europe was either frozen solid or tundra-steppe, just as Siberia is today.
The Wisconsin glacial advance began about 70,000 years ago, reaching its greatest extent 18,000 years ago, before receding. Although there have been numerous ice ages over the last few million years, the Wisconsin glaciation is what is usually referred to when people say “Ice Age,” because it is the most recent, many modern geological features sculpted (particularly in the northern hemisphere ), and has most influenced human evolution and culture.
Due to successive glaciations, it is sometimes difficult to determine exactly which ice age had an effect on which geological feature, but thorough investigation has largely been able to piece it together. There are numerous valleys in North America, Europe and Asia known to have been shaped by glaciation. These often feature large exposed areas of granite, cut and ground by the immense pressure of ancient glaciers.
The Baltic Sea in Northern Europe was created entirely as a byproduct of the Wisconsin glaciation, a product of melting glaciers. This is why the Baltic Sea is the world’s largest sea filled with brackish water and its bottom has been sculpted by glacial erosion. “Brackish” means that the water is saltier than fresh water, but less salty than the oceans. The Baltic Sea is very unusual in that its surface waters are fresh, but its deep waters are salty and different species occupy each layer.
During the Wisconsin glaciation, humans survived in frozen areas by wearing animal skins and making as much use of fire as possible. Like today’s Eskimos, humans are able to adapt to extremely cold environments and had the basic technology to do so. Metalworking had not yet been developed, so flint was the main raw material for the industry. Homo sapiens moved into the frozen regions about 40,000 years ago when we colonized Eurasia and Oceania. Humans lived alongside Neanderthals for about 15,000 years, until the latter went extinct 33,000 to 24,000 years ago. Humans may be responsible for this extinction.
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