Beestonian stage

The Beestonian Stage is an early Pleistocene stage in the geological history of the British Isles. It is named after Beeston Cliffs near West Runton in Norfolk where deposits from this stage are preserved.

The Beestonian precedes the Cromerian Stage and follows the Pastonian Stage. This stage consists of alternating glacial and interglacial phases instead of being a continuous glacial epoch. It is equivalent to Marine isotope stages 22 to (60?). The Beestonian Stage and Marine Isotope Stage 22 ended about 866,000 years ago.

The Beestonian corresponds temporally to the Danube Stage in the glacial history of the Alpine region. Based on finding in the Low Countries, the corresponding stage in northern continental Europe is divided into four stages, the Bavelian, Menapian, Waalian, and Eburonian.

The Beestonian had also been equated to the Nebraskan glaciation in North America. However, the Nebraskan Stage, along with the Kansan and Aftonian Stages, have been abandoned by North American Quaternary geologists and merged into the Pre-Illinoian Stage. At this time, the Beestonian stage is correlated with the period of time, which includes the Pre-Illinoian F, Pre-Illinoian G, and Pre-Illinoian H glaciations of North America.