Sturtian Glaciation

The Sturtian glaciation was a worldwide ice age of the Cryogenian period, lasting from about 717 to 660 million years ago, a span of roughly 57 million years. It is hypothesized to have been a snowball Earth event, or alternatively a series of multiple regional glaciations, and stands as the longest and most severe glacial event preserved in the geologic record after the earlier Huronian glaciation. Evidence for it appears in rock formations on multiple continents, including Australia, Canada, China, Ethiopia, Namibia, Siberia and Svalbard, and its aftermath saw increased biological complexity recorded in biomarkers and fossils.