ABSTRACT
Geologists first developed a record of Pleistocene climate change on the basis of features of the landscape. One such feature is the terminal moraine, a characteristic raised ridge that formed at the point where the glacial ice sheet reached its maximum extent. Cape Cod in Massachusetts is a classic example of a terminal moraine. By looking at such features in both North America and Europe, geologists developed a glacial chronology for the Pleistocene involving four major cycles of advance and retreat of the ice sheets. In Europe, the four major glacial advances were named, from earliest to latest, Günz, Mindel, Riss, and Würm. In North America, the last two glacial advances are known as the Illinoian and the Wisconsin.
