Term usually applied to the time between the first rise of the temperature curve after the last minimum of the Devensian glacial stage and the very rapid rise of temperature that marks the beginning of the post-glacial, or Flandrian period. The late Devensian extends in Europe from about 15 000 to 10 000 BP and shows a characteristic three-fold climatic and hence depositional sequence, from cold, Older Dryas deposits, to a warmer Bølling-Allerød interstadial, to colder, Younger Dryas.