The last glacial period, commonly referred to as the 'Ice Age', spanned from 126,000 YBP–11,700 YBP[1] and was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age which occurred during the last years of the Pleistocene epoch.[2] This arctic environment was very cold and dry and probably dusty, resembling mountaintop environments, and was very different from today's swampy tundra.[15] It reached its peak during the last glacial maximum, when ice sheets commenced advancing from 33,000 years BP and reached their maximum positions 26,500 years BP. Deglaciation commenced in the Northern Hemisphere approximately 19,000 years BP, and in Antarctica approximately 14,500 years BP, which is consistent with evidence that it was the primary source for an abrupt rise in the sea level at that time.[4]