one of the largest Pleistocene glacial masses, covering most of northern Europe (the Pleistocene Epoch began about 1,600,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago). At its maximum extent, the Scandinavian Ice Sheet nearly reached latitude 48° N. It is estimated to have covered about 6,600,000 square km (2,500,000 square miles) and attained a thickness of up to 3,000 m (9,800 feet).

The ice sheet originated from the Jostedalsbreen area in Norway and spread to Great Britain on the west, central Germany and Poland on the south, and nearly to Moscow on the east. It retreated to the Jostedalsbreen area at the end of the Pleistocene.