Its development reached its epitome in the 1750s when the glaciers took the biggest shape. The Little Ice Age commenced in the 16 th century and ended in the 19 th century. As per the archeologists and historians, a small ice age progressed but vanished within three centuries. The earth has also witnessed smaller ice ages that are not significant when it comes to the span. This Ice Age period is significantly important for the evolution of warm-blooded animals such as mammals and humans. It is hard to believe, but our earth was majorly covered with ice just several thousand years back. The most recent ice age happened in the Pleistocene Epoch (ranging from 2.6 million years to 11,700 years). The structure of the earth’s crust and other fossilized evidence confirm that this is the first ice age on earth. As per the archaeologists, the first-ever ice age recorded was during the Precambrian Time. Now that we know what is an Ice Age let us find out the different ice ages our earth has witnessed since its formation. It is also called glaciations, stadials, etc. Iceseemed to exist for millions of years in prime areas are polar caps, alpine glaciers, and a major portion of the continental landmass. Ice ages affected the tectonic movements of the continental and oceanic plates resulting in the formation of new landmasses and continents. The Prime Characteristics of the Ice Age are:įormation of heavy layers of ice, covering the major part of the landmass on earth’s crust.Ĭontinental glaciations resulting in the freezing of rivers and freshwater bodies.ĭrastic reshaping of the continental shapes due to shrinking of mass and expansion of water. The advent of the ice age always marked the development and progress of new species. Many new species evolved, whereas many got eradicated. The major part of the continents remained under the ice for millions of years, affecting the flora and fauna of the earth’s ecosystem. The drastic reduction in temperature in the earth’s atmosphere led to the formation of ice and glaciers across the continents. This article will discuss what an ice age looks like and when our planet witnessed ice ages in the previous eras. This large-scale deposition of ice and glaciation across the continents is termed an ice age. During this time, a significant part of the continents remained covered with ice. The world has witnessed multiple ice ages or glacial ages across the eras.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |