A new centennial-scale Mg/Ca temperature record from the California margin (ODP Site 1017E) reveals large millennial-scale oscillations between 10 to 60 kyr. This record indicates that sea surface temperature on the California Margin warmed rapidly on the deglacial by 7.4 + or - 0.8 degrees C, and was preceded by a pre-Bolling temperature oscillation of 2.6 + or - 1.2 degrees C. Millennial-scale events of the last glacial episode were marked by sea surface temperature oscillations of between 3 and 7 degrees C on the California margin, and interstadials were associated with an increase in surface water salinity. The data are consistent with evidence for a glacial southward shift in the polar jet stream and concomitant strengthening of the relatively cold, fresh California Current during stadial events. The data also support previous hypotheses suggesting a tight coupling between the North Atlantic and northeast Pacific response to climate instability of the last glacial episode.