Caught in the ebb and flow of the last Ice Ages over the previous 2-million-years, Ireland was at various times mostly glaciated and completely land-locked as a part of the continent of Europe. Ireland was an island about 125,000-years-ago when the sea level appears to have been very close to its present position. The sea level dropped 130-meters (426-feet) or more during the interval from around 30,000 to 15,000 years-ago when Ireland became part of continental Europe again. Sea levels have generally been rising ever since, albeit at a much slower rate.