Bering Land Bridge Facts: History, Causes, and Other Details

The Bering Land Bridge was a geological formation that worked as the connecting link between Asia and North America.

This bridge was formed during the Ice Age and supported a significant diversity in flora and fauna. It also became the route used, in which the New World was populated.

The concept of the Bering Land Bridge has been under the works for ages.

However, in the 20th century, this Bering Land Bridge Theory gathered a lot of momentum due to being studied by researchers of several different backgrounds. While how the bridge was formed has been deduced by one theory, the exact conditions under which people used this corridor to migrate to the New World are still being researched and developed.

Hence, with each new information, the condition of the earth and people during the pre-historic times are becoming even clearer.

Continue reading to know about the history, formation, and more about the Bering Land Bridge!

Historical Facts

The Bering Land Bridge is a geological formation that once formed the connecting link between North America and Asia. Even though this land is now below sea level, it was once not just a connecting link between the two continents but also the site of the evolution of several plants and animals.

Quite a few interesting historical facts are associated with the Bering Land Bridge.

The term 'Beringia' was conceived in the year 1937 by Eric Hulten. The naming was done in honor of Vitus Bering, a famous explorer of Dano-Russian origin. The land bridge is quite massive and has a width of about 620 mi (998 km).

The formation of Beringia took place 2.5 million years ago, during the Ice Age, which is formally known as the Pleistocene Epoch. It was during this era that the earth witnessed extreme weather conditions, alternating between hot and cold. Fascinatingly, each of these weather conditions lasted for thousands of years.

During the harsh cold seasons towards the end of the Ice Age, a major portion of the Earth's water got frozen to glaciers, which drastically reduced the sea level. This reduction in sea level led to the hidden land under the Bering Strait being exposed, and hence, led to the formation of the Bering Land Bridge, or Beringia.

After the formation of this landmass, several other changes further changed and enhanced Beringia. The most notable was the climate change in this region.

The moisture from the Pacific was blocked from entering into the interiors of Bering Land Bridge. This essentially makes Beringia a dry land, even when most of the planet is covered in snow and ice.

Naturally, this kind of climate led to this Land Bridge becoming home to many different species of plants and animals that could not survive anywhere else.

Fossil evidence has pointed towards a significant species diversity that took place in the Bering Land Bridge. Some of the animals that existed in this region were woolly mammoths, horses, scimitar cats, bison, and so on.

Apart from animals, insects were also part of the diversity in this region. The fossil record, especially those belonging to beetles, has been recovered from the Bering Land Bridge. Poplar, spruce, and birch trees were some of the dominant flora of this landmass, which essentially had a grassland steppe kind of ecology.

Eventually, with the warming of the Earth's atmosphere again, the sea levels began to rise. This caused the Bering Land Bridge to become somewhat submerged and reduce in size; however, some parts of it remained above sea level. For instance, the Pribil of Islands, Diomede Islands, and King Island are all parts of the land bridge that remain visible.

Causes That Led To Mass Migration

The history of the Bering Land Bridge is quite fascinating as it was the supposed route using which humans migrated and settled into the New World. Several reasons made early humans undertake this great journey, which will be discussed here:

One of the primary reasons behind the human migration through the land bridge was most certainly the lack of resources. It has been hypothesized that early humans crossed Beringia and traveled south towards the coastal areas in search of food and other items that would help them sustain their lives.

In fact, while many people believe that the coast is not very safe, it is one of the most resourceful geographic zones. The uninhabited lands of the New World provided endless opportunities for early men and women to start their settlement afresh.

Subsequently, the new settlement developed and spread all over North and South America, proving the success of the migration.

Different Theories

North America has been inhabited for quite a long time, prompting researchers to dive deeper into how humankind populated this land. This led to the idea of a landmass existing between Asia and North America that became the connecting link for the two continents.

Eventually, through the years, different researchers developed different theories that could explain the Bering Land Bridge.

Possibly the earliest theory about a land bridge connecting North America to Asia came from Fray Jose de Acosta in the year 1590. Acosta was a Spanish missionary who became interested in how human migration took place in the First World.

He eventually came up with the possibility of a narrow land bridge that existed in the northern part of the continent that connected North America and Asia. Acosta believed that the land bridge existed during his lifetime, as well.

Nearly a century later, the expedition was undertaken by Vitus Bering, further confirming the presence of a land bridge in this region. This exploration was commissioned by Peter the Great, then Czar of Russia.

Before this journey was undertaken, Siberian maps displayed a landmass from the Chukchi Peninsula, right across the water. However, no travel accounts related to this landmass were present.

Fortunately, with Bering's voyages in the year 1724 and 1741, the presence of that landmass was strongly confirmed. In fact, the theory of human settlement on this land was also confirmed.

Subsequently, in 1778, Captain James Cook explored and detailed the coast of Alaska, confirming what Vitus Bering had already witnessed. With Cook's exploration, the rest of the world also became acquainted with the concept of a land bridge, and consequently, the theory of humans migrating using the Bering Land Bridge gained all the more popularity.

From the 1800s till the 1920s, research into the Bering Land Bridge slowed down due to a lack of data and evidence. However, all that changed with David M. Hopkins, a member of the US Geological Society.

One of the main things Hopkins did was collaborate with researchers belonging to a diverse background to make the Bering Land Bridge theory more comprehensive.

Some of the scientists that Hopkins worked with were Victoria Goetcheus Wolf, Claudia Hofle, and Mary Edwards. It was Hopkins who was able to confirm that the Bering Land Bridge had significantly more diverse vegetation than what was already theorized.

To do so, he looked into the age of the plant materials that were frozen in ash. This ash was from an eruption of the Devil Mountain, which took place 18,000 years ago.

One of the recent developments in the Bering Land Bridge theory overturns an age-old thought held about the conditions in which humans migrated through the land bridge. A new study has shown that the first people who crossed the bridge essentially walked along the bridge instead of across it.

This is because, contrary to what has been believed till now, the corridor formed by the bridge was not ice-free. Genetic studies have shown the corridor only became habitable 12,600 years ago.

FAQs

How long ago was the Bering Land Bridge formed?

The Bering Land Bridge was formed 2.5 million years ago. However, human settlements were not possible until about 12,600 years ago.

Why did the Bering Land Bridge disappear?

With the end of the Ice Age, the sea levels rose back up. This led to the Bering Land Bridge gradually diminishing and disappearing. However, some parts of it are still visible today.

What evidence supports the Bering Land Bridge theory?

Fossils belonging to animals, along with remains from human settlements, all recovered from islands in the middle of the modern-day Bering Sea, prove that the Bering Land Bridge was indeed inhabited by people and animals and also used as a corridor. Hence, this proves the Bering Land Bridge theory.

Who proposed the Bering Land Bridge theory?

Jules Marcou was one of the earliest geologists to propose the concept of the land bridge, thus establishing the Bering Land Bridge theory.

How many land bridges are there?

There are six prominent examples of land bridges, some of which are the Thule Land Bridge, Adam's Bridge, Isthmus of Panama, in addition to the Bering Land Bridge.

What was the name of the land bridge?

The land bridge that connected North America with Asia is known as Bering Land Bridge or Beringia.

Why is the Bering Land Bridge so important?

Bering Land Bridge is important as it helped connect Asia to North America, thus helping early men and women settle in new lands.

What are some facts about the land bridge theory?

The Land Bridge theory suggests that mass migration took place during the Ice Age from Siberia to Alaska using Beringia. The extreme weather patterns of the Ice Age led to the formation of the land bridge.

What was the Bering Land Bridge made of?

The Bering Land Bridge was essentially a dry land with fertile soil that promoted the growth of various plants.