130,000-yr continuous pollen record from Clear Lake, Lake County, California

Pollen analysis of a 115-m sediment core from Clear Lake, Lake County, California, provides a climatic record that is continuous for the past 130,000 yr. The pollen record reflects migrations of the tree species of the California Coast Ranges in response to the climatic changes of the last glacial cycle. During interglacials, the Clear Lake pollen rain was dominated by Quercus</em> (oak) pollen. During cooler periods, oak pollen was replaced by pollen of coniferous species. The curve for Quercus</em> pollen strongly resembles and is used to correlate with both deep-sea oxygen-isotope curves and the climatic record from certain European pollen studies.