The term 'Ice Age' refers to a period of time in Earth's history when large parts of the planet were covered in ice. This period is also known as the 'Pleistocene Epoch', which lasted from 2.6 million years ago to 11, 700 years ago. During this time, the climate was much colder than it is today and glaciers covered much of the northern hemisphere. The word 'ERA' is often used to refer to a long period of time, and in this case it can be used to describe the Ice Age.