Ice Age Facts for Kids
Ice Age is a period of time in the Earth’s history when parts of the Earth were covered with thick layers of ice. This happened due to the changes in the climate and the temperature of the Earth that caused the glaciers to form and spread out. The Ice Age is named after the ice that covered the Earth and it lasted for about 2.6 million years in the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras.
Here are some interesting facts about the Ice Age for kids to learn:
1. The Ice Age is divided into two major periods which are the Pleistocene and Holocene. The Pleistocene period lasted for around 2.6 million years and ended approximately 11,700 years ago. The Holocene period which followed lasted for the last 11,700 years and is the current period we are in.
2. During the last Ice Age, much of the Earth was covered by ice that was up to 1.2 miles thick in some areas. The glaciers reached as far south as the mid-United States and Northern Europe. Due to the extreme cold, much of the water on Earth was frozen and trapped in the glaciers, causing a drop in sea levels.
3. The Ice Age affected not only the climate, but also the plants and animals that lived during that time. Some species of animals, like the wooly mammoth and the giant sloth, were adapted to live in cold conditions while others could not survive and became extinct.
4. Humans also adapted to the extreme climate by developing warm clothing and living in caves or igloos to protect themselves from the cold. The early humans of the Ice Age also hunted animals for food and used their bones and skins for shelter and clothing.
5. The end of the last Ice Age marked the beginning of the agricultural revolution which led to the development of civilizations and the rise of the human population.