Ten Amazing Places Shaped by Snow and Ice, from Lake Baikal to Tadami

Winter does not just cover a landscape, it rebuilds it. Lake water freezes around rising bubbles, waves turn a lighthouse into an ice sculpture and glaciers push walls of blue ice into lakes. These ten places in Russia, Greenland, Canada, Switzerland, Argentina, the United States and Japan show how snow, ice and water create some of the most striking scenery on Earth.

1. Lake Baikal, Siberia

Lake Baikal in south-east Siberia is about 25 million years old and roughly 1,700 metres deep, making it both the oldest and the deepest lake in the world. It holds nearly 20% of the planet’s unfrozen fresh water and is home to the Baikal seal, one of many species found nowhere else. In winter its surface freezes into sheets of clear ice criss-crossed by cracks, so transparent that you can see deep into the water below.

2. The Blue River, Greenland

In the Greenland summer, meltwater gathers on the surface of the ice and carves rivers of startling blue. This channel on Petermann Glacier winds across the white ice like a ribbon, with water flowing over a riverbed made of frozen water. It is one of the clearest pictures of water existing in two states at once.

3. Abraham Lake, Alberta

Abraham Lake is an artificial reservoir on the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta’s Kootenay Plains, created in 1972 when the Bighorn Dam was built. It is Alberta’s largest reservoir, about 32 km long. Plants decaying on the lakebed release methane, and as the lake freezes the gas bubbles rise and are trapped in layers just below the surface. The lake usually freezes by late December, and mid-January to mid-February is the best time to see the bubbles. The David Thompson Highway between Saskatchewan River Crossing and Nordegg runs along the lake.

4. The Albula and Bernina railways, Switzerland

Two historic lines of the Rhaetian Railway cross the Swiss Alps through the Albula and Bernina passes, and together they form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Albula line, opened in 1904, is 67 km long with 42 tunnels and covered galleries and 144 viaducts and bridges. The 61 km Bernina line adds 13 tunnels and galleries and 52 viaducts and bridges, and runs from St. Moritz over the mountains to Tirano in Italy. In winter, the red trains crossing stone viaducts through snowy forest are among the classic images of the Alps.

5. Perito Moreno Glacier, Patagonia

Perito Moreno is the star of Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina’s Santa Cruz Province. The park, created in 1937, covers about 600,000 hectares, and glaciers cover roughly half of it, fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the largest ice sheet outside Antarctica. Perito Moreno’s front rises up to 60 metres above Lake Argentino. As it advances it blocks a narrow channel of the lake, raising the water level, and it regularly calves huge blocks of ice into the lake with a roar.

When planning a trip, look for Los Glaciares National Park: the town of Perito Moreno is a separate place in the same province.

6. St. Joseph North Pier, Lake Michigan

The St. Joseph North Pier Lights mark the entrance to the St. Joseph River on Lake Michigan. The inner and outer range lights were built in 1906–1907, on a site that has had a lighthouse since 1832, and an elevated catwalk runs from the lighthouse along the pier to the shore. In winter, storm waves break over the pier and freeze, coating the towers and catwalk in thick ice. The lights were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, passed to the city of St. Joseph in 2013 and were restored in 2016 with $2 million in private donations.

7. The Blue Pond, Biei, Hokkaido

Shirogane Blue Pond in Biei formed during disaster-prevention work below the volcano Tokachi-dake, when water collected behind a dam among standing tree trunks. Its colour comes from minerals, including aluminium compounds, in the rivers that feed it: tiny particles scatter blue light. After snowmelt or heavy rain the water can turn cloudy. From 25 October to 23 April the pond is lit up from sunset until 9 pm, which turns the snowy trees into a blue-white night scene. It is about 20 minutes by car or Dohoku bus from JR Biei Station.

8. Snoqualmie Falls, Washington

East of Seattle, between the towns of Snoqualmie and Fall City, the Snoqualmie River drops 268 feet (82 m) over Snoqualmie Falls. More than 1.5 million people visit each year. The falls are sacred to the Snoqualmie People as the place where First Woman and First Man were created, and they became famous worldwide through the TV series Twin Peaks. Since 1899 they have also powered the world’s first completely underground power plant. On cold days, ice and frost build up on the rock walls beside the falling water.

9. The Snake River, Wyoming

The Snake River rises near Two Ocean Pass at the southern edge of Yellowstone National Park, flows into Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park and then winds south through Jackson Hole. From there it runs about 1,080 miles (1,740 km) through Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and Washington before joining the Columbia River near the Tri-Cities. In winter, the dark channel stands out sharply against the snow-covered valley floor.

10. The Tadami River and Tadami Line, Fukushima

The JR Tadami Line runs 135.2 km from Aizu-Wakamatsu in Fukushima Prefecture to Koide in Niigata, a slow and scenic ride of more than four hours with many bridges over the Tadami River. Heavy rain in July 2011 cut the line, and the section between Aizu-Kawaguchi and Tadami had no trains for about 11 years. Full service returned on 1 October 2022 after Fukushima Prefecture bought the track. Bridges such as Tadamigawa Bridge No. 1, mirrored in the still river between snowy hills, give the line its famous winter views.

Explore more: blue ice within a glacier; snow shapes created by wind.

Related reading

• Snow, Ice and Water Across Mountain Landscapes
• Greenland’s Blue Meltwater Channels and the Petermann Glacier Context
• The Albula and Bernina Railways: Read the Engineering in the Alpine View
• Abraham Lake’s Ice Bubbles: Layers beneath the Surface
• Tom Gill’s Ice-Covered Lake Michigan Lighthouses
• Ten European Rail Ideas: Scenic Lines, Excursions and Historical Pass Routes
• Walking on Perito Moreno Glacier with Richard Watson

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