North America's History: The Great Ice Age

The Great Ice Age caused changes to the geographical setting of North America which affected its consequent history. Around 35,000 years ago, the glaciers froze over most of the world’s oceans, which led to sea levels lowering, ultimately revealing a land bridge connecting Eurasia and North America in the space of the present-day Bering Sea. This was extremely important for the colonization of North America since groups of Nomadic Asian hunters used it to travel to the continent, possibly to follow prey; the land bridge was used for some 250 centuries before finally becoming flooded 10,000 years ago. The end of the Ice Age also changed North America’s history because it left all people in isolation on the continent. The population was forced

to create their own civilizations; thus, leading to the wondrous expanse of Native American tribes. These groups spread out from the top North America to the tip of South America with a wide variety of cultures and languages. The geographical isolation led to many of the tribes advancing their agricultural techniques, in order to feed their large populations, as well as the construction of elaborate cities. When the glaciers melted 10,000 years ago, they also affected the geography in North America. It created the Great Lakes, which in turn flowed into the Mississippi River and then into the Gulf of Mexico. When the ice melted and unblocked the Gulf of St. Lawrence the water also flowed through the St. Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean, which lowered the Great Lakes level and allowed the Missouri-Mississippi-Ohio system to drain the very large basin left between the Rockies and the Appalachians. This conceded in the colonization of North America and made its history possible as it gave the tribes plenty of lands to live on. Overall, the Ice Age was essential to the history of North America because it led to many geographical changes that allowed civilizations to be created.