Eemian

After the Saalian glacial, a long and relatively warm period began: the Eemian, which occurred between 130,000 to 100,000 years ago. The climate in the North Sea region slowly grew subtropical. Large parts of Western European coasts flooded under the melting ice caps. Fossilized shells from the Eem Sea can be found on the beach, among the present-day shells. Live species are found in the vicinity of the Mediterranean Sea. Neanderthals, elephants, hippopotumuses and rhinoceroses lived on land during the Eemian.