Beneath the waters of California's golden coast lies a long-buried prehistoric era that could change our understanding of ice-age history. According to California State Parks, after the last glacial maximum, sea levels soared by over 300 feet, flooding ancient landscapes and Indigenous settlement areas, and eventually the Pacific Ocean. With help from the San Diego Archaeological Centre, researchers are currently uncovering thousands of submerged stone tools, thereby creating a ‘lost coastal migration world.’
Meanwhile, through extensive federal expeditions led by NOAA Ocean Exploration, there are attempts to map these drowned valleys for prehistoric camping locations. These discoveries also include artefacts over 100,000 years old, including mammoth tusks, and submerged village locations. This submerged record suggests that early maritime explorers inhabited these now-hidden coastlines far earlier than previously recorded, reshaping the timeline of human arrival in North America.
