Considerable uncertainty exists as to whether the last interglacial was relatively “short” (~10 ka) or “long” (∼20–60 ka), although most investigators generally agree that the last interglacial correlates with all or part of deep-sea oxygen-isotope stage 5. A compilation of reliable U-series ages of marine terrace corals from deposits that have been correlated with isotope stage 5 indicates that there were three relatively high sea-level stands at ca 125–120 ka, ca. 105 ka, and ca. 85–80 ka, and these ages agree with the times of high sea level predicted by the Milankovitch orbital-forcing theory. At a number of localities, however,...