The Bering Bridge is a section of land that goes across the Bering between Alaska and Russia. While it is deep underwater today, that was not the case in the past.

This land bridge is believed to be how various animals traveled between the continents, including humans. In the past, this bridge was assumed to be largely dry land that was exposed due to the sea levels being so much lower than they are today.

New research that has yet to be published, however, indicates that the area was likely not as dry and easily traversable as previously thought. In a statement about the research, author Professor Sarah Fowell of the University of Alaska Fairbanks said:

“We were looking for several large lakes. What we actually found was evidence of lots of small lakes and river channels.”

The new theory is that the area in the middle of the bridge was significantly lower, with higher regions along the edges that may have kept ocean waters out. The lower altitude would allow more rivers, pods, and smaller lakes to form as well as marshy areas.

Dr. Jenna Hill says the following about this concept:

“We’ve been looking on land to try to reconstruct what is underwater. But that doesn’t really tell you what was on land that is now submerged between Alaska and Siberia.”

Much of the research was conducted by taking core samples from what is now the sea floor but at the time would have been above sea level. In the samples, they found things like pollen, DNA, insect egg cases, leaves, and much more that helped them to paint a clearer picture of what things may have looked like when the land bridge was in place.

This new theory on what the Bering Bridge looked like helps to explain how larger animals such as mammoths and bison were able to cross.

Fowell explains:

“It may have been marshy, but we are still seeing evidence of mammoths. Even if it was mostly floodplains and ponds, the grazers were around, just uphill following higher, drier areas.”

Of course, there would still be significant obstacles to overcome. Specifically, with so many more small lakes, rivers, and marshy areas it is likely that these animals would have to cross at least some smaller regions of water. This explains why some animals that were unable to swim or wade through never made the trip.

Papers based on this unpublished research have already been written and presented at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, which helps to show just how significant these findings really are.

These animals had to overcome some very difficult terrain.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about why we should be worried about the leak in the bottom of the ocean.