The Ice Age

Glaciers and snow covered the northern United States and Canada during the Ice Age, but never Texas.

Image courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The technical scientific name for the Ice Age is the Pleistocene Epoch and it lasted from 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 years ago. It is called the Ice Age because of the repeated glacial freezing and melting that occurred all over the earth during this time. Glaciers covered one third of Earth during the coldest time of the Ice Age.

In North America, glaciers covered all of present-day Canada and the northern United States. Due to the warmer temperatures, glaciers never covered Texas. Scientists believe the mammoths and other animals came to the area for all the water and food that was available here during the Ice Age.