An abundance curve for ice-rafted detritus based on data from cores from the Gulf of Alaska depicts the main continental glacial events, on which curves of a series of shorter events are superimposed. Interpretation of the shorter curves is limited by the difficulty of distinguishing between glacial events and the “noise level” of the data. However, the correspondence is remarkable between the curves developed here and curves of Pleistocene ocean water and ice temperatures, glacial advances, and lake levels. The curves suggest cycles of glacial advance lasting 12,000 to 15,000 yr; if more cores were available, the cyclicity would probably be established with greater confidence. Our studies of ice-rafted detritus in the Gulf of Alaska revealed that under certain conditions, a rapidly deposited deep-sea marine section, which characteristically has temporal continuity, can record variations in the intensity of alpine glaciation, which characteristically has high sensitivity to climatic change.