Institute For Ice Age Studies

So much of the earth's water was locked up in glacial ice during the periods of advance that world sea levels dropped by as much as 100 meters (300 vertical feet). As a result, both the English Channel and the Bering Sea were dry land and were occupied by humans for long periods. When the glaciers finally retreated about 12,000 years ago, world sea levels rose again and covered all evidence of human occupation in these areas with fathoms of water.