Early Pleistocene
The Early Pleistocene (also known as the Lower Pleistocene) is a subepoch in the international geologic timescale or a subseries in chronostratigraphy, being the earliest or lowest subdivision of the Quaternary period/system and Pleistocene epoch/series. It spans the time between 2.588 - 0.005 Ma (million years ago) and 0.781 - 0.005 Ma. The Early Pleistocene consists of the Gelasian and the Calabrian ages. (wiki)
Connected Sites
| Site | Rationale | Link |
| Aggtelek and Slovak Karst | Beginning some two million years ago, extensive and complex surface and underground erosion developed in this rock into classic forms of temperate climate karst. | |
| Atapuerca | The earliest fossil hominid remains in Europe, the Pleistocene deposits, from around 800,000 BP as established by palaeomagnetic analysis, were found in the Gran Dolina site in the Sierra de Atapuerca (AB ev) | |
| Darien National Park | Was the bridge between the two continents of the Western Hemisphere, which has emerged from below sea level on several occasions in the distant past, most recently in the early Pleistocene. (AB ev) | |
| Garamba National Park | "The transition from the equatorial forest to northern latitude savannas was most probably gradual throughout the early Pleistocene" | |
| Gough and Inaccessible Islands | Gough Island : 4 main periods of volcanism are recognised. Older Basaltic 2.4 -.52Ma, Intrusion of aegerine-augite trachyte plugs 0.8-0.47, voluminous trachyte extrusion 0.3-0.12 Ma and finally to eruption of the Edinburgh Basalt 0.2-0.13Ma". Inaccessible : "..... a volcanic superstructure built up during the last three million years | |
| Grand Canyon | The base level and course of the Colorado River (or its ancestral equivalent) changed 5.3M years ago when the Gulf of California opened and lowered the river's base level (its lowest point). This increased the rate of erosion and cut nearly all of the Grand Canyon's current depth by 1.2M years ago | |
| Henderson Island | Durch weitere vulkanische Aktivitäten, die vor 900.000 Jahren zum Entstehen der Insel Pitcairn geführt haben, erfolgte eine Verformung der Erdkruste derart, dass das Henderson-Atoll noch weiter über die Meeresoberfläche angehoben wurde. (Wiki) | |
| Hubei Shennongjia | the area acted as a refuge during the "Quaternary Ice Ages" (Quaternary Glaciation is also called the Pleistocene Glaciation) | |
| Iguacu | formed on the rim of the basaltic Paraní Plateau, Serra Geral Formation. This volcanic plateau formed in Lower Cretaceous period some 132 million years ago.. (The lava) "covered a former desert that was present in the region, and there were several stages to the lava flow (creating interlayered basalt with sandstone layers which has been subjected to various faults and tectonic movements.."Although no absolute ages exist on the evolution of the fluvial system, it has been suggested that the falls have been continuously wandering upstream to its present position by progressive headwater erosion at a rate of 1.4-2.1 cm/year in the last 1.5-2.0 million years | |
| Iguazu National Park | formed on the rim of the basaltic Paraní Plateau, Serra Geral Formation. This volcanic plateau formed in Lower Cretaceous period some 132 million years ago.. (The lava) "covered a former desert that was present in the region, and there were several stages to the lava flow (creating interlayered basalt with sandstone layers which has been subjected to various faults and tectonic movements.."Although no absolute ages exist on the evolution of the fluvial system, it has been suggested that the falls have been continuously wandering upstream to its present position by progressive headwater erosion at a rate of 1.4-2.1 cm/year in the last 1.5-2.0 million years | |
| Kahuzi-Biega National Park | "Straddling the Albertine Rift and the Congo Basin" - "The current course of the Congo River formed 1.5-2 million years BP, during the Pleistocene" | |
| Komodo National Park | the ancestor of the Komodo dragon most likely evolved in Australia and spread westward, reaching the Indonesian island of Flores by 900,000 years ago. Comparisons between fossils and living Komodo dragons on Flores show that the lizard's body size has remained relatively stable since then | |
| Lake Malawi | It is variously estimated at about 40,000 years old or about one to two million years. (Wiki) | |
| Lake Turkana | oldest hominid remains are 2 million years old | |
| Los Katios National Park | Acted as a filter or barrier to the interchange of fauna between the Americas during the Tertiary and Pleistocene. lt is thought to be the site of a Pleistocene refuge, a hypothesis supported by the high proportion of endemic plants (AB ev) | |
| Melka Kunture and Balchit | "The Melka Kunture and Balchit Archeological and Paleontological Site preserves evidence of hominin occupation of high altitudes from around two million years ago (...)." (AB Ev) | |
| Ngorongoro | Olduvai Gorge gave its name to "Oldowan". This "is the archaeological term used to refer to the stone tool industry that was used by Hominines during the Lower Paleolithic period. The Oldowan is significant for being the earliest stone tool industry in prehistory, being used from 2.6 million years ago up until 1.7 million years ago" (Wiki) Later remains have also been found at Olduvai. | |
| Peninsula Valdes | Esta roca esta formado por diversos perfiles de la era Terciaria, y entre 25 a 2 millones de anos se sucedieron diferentes ingresiones y regresiones del mar, sumado a cambios de temperatura y corrientes que generaron diversos estratos que hoy vemos representados por ejemplo en el alto acantilado de la Punta del mareógrafo en Puerto Piramides. | |
| Salonga National Park | "Along with the common chimpanzee, the bonobo is the closest extant relative to humans. Because the two species are not proficient swimmers, the formation of the Congo River 1.5–2 million years ago possibly led to the speciation of the bonobo. Bonobos live south of the river, and thereby were separated from the ancestors of the common chimpanzee, which live north of the river" and (also Wiki) "DNA evidence suggests the bonobo and common chimpanzee species effectively separated from each other fewer than one million years ago". | |
| Sangiran Early Man Site | Hominid remains are 1.5 million years old | |
| Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries | The first discovered skull of the animal, in south China, is estimated to be 2 million years old. | |
| Victoria Falls | "Since the upliftiing of the Makdadikgadi Pan area some 2 mya the Zambesi.... has been cutting through the basalt .... and forming a series of retreating gorges" (AB) | |
| Virunga National Park | The current course of the Congo River formed 1.5-2 million years BP, during the Pleistocene (Wiki), Albertine Rift system from "Late Pliocene (~ 3Ma) to Early Pleistocene (~ 2 Ma (Final emergence of the Eastern Mountain Gorilla seems to have been late Pleistocene) | |
| Yellowstone | The caldera formed during the last of three supereruptions over the past 2.1 million years. (Wiki) |
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