Ice and Snow Formations: 22 Frozen Wonders, from Baikal to Lake Michigan

Ice and snow make some of the most delicate sculptures in nature. Soap bubbles freeze into crystal globes, freezing rain wraps grass and berries in glass, sea ice grows salty “frost flowers” and wind rolls wet snow into hollow cylinders. Here are 22 frozen forms photographed around the world, with the science behind each one.

Frozen bubbles and Lake Baikal ice

1. Frozen bubbles. Angela Kelly photographed these in Washington State in December 2013, blowing bubbles with her son from a mix of dish soap, water and Karo syrup. A 2019 study by Virginia Tech engineers in Nature Communications showed what happens: in freezing air, ice starts at the bottom of the bubble and tiny crystals break off and swirl around the film like a snow globe, until the whole bubble freezes within about ten seconds. See our freezing-bubble feature for more.

2. Baikal ice emerald. Lake Baikal in Siberia is the deepest lake on Earth, about 1,642 m at its deepest, and the oldest, at 25–30 million years. It holds roughly 22–23% of the world’s fresh surface water. The lake freezes from about January to May, with ice typically 0.5–1.4 m thick, and in winter its water is so clear that visibility can reach 30–40 m, which is why the ice can glow green and turquoise. Baikal has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

3. Folded snow. The photograph that opens this collection shows a sheet of snow that has curled over on itself like folded fabric, a reminder that snow can bend as well as break.

Frozen lighthouses on Lake Michigan

4. Frozen lighthouses. The St. Joseph North Pier lights in St. Joseph, Michigan, stand at the mouth of the St. Joseph River on Lake Michigan. The present pier lights date from 1906–1907 and are joined to the shore by an elevated catwalk. In hard winters, spray from storm waves freezes onto towers, railings and catwalk until the whole pier looks carved from ice. Our related story on Tom Gill’s Ice-Covered Lake Michigan Lighthouses has more.

Frost flowers, lace and ice blossoms

5. Ice blossoms and 6. frosted lace are made of frost: ice crystals growing directly from water vapour on cold surfaces, building feathery patterns crystal by crystal.

7. Frost flowers in the Arctic Ocean. These form on young sea ice when the ice is at least 15 °C warmer than the air above it, for example 0 °C ice under −30 °C air, and the wind is calm. Vapour rising from the ice condenses on tiny bumps, and brine wicks up into the crystals, making them about three times saltier than seawater. Patches are usually 3–4 cm across.

8. Rabbit or frost flowers? Seen from the right angle, one cluster of frost crystals looks remarkably like a small white rabbit.

9. Frost on the fence and 10. frozen pond. Frost and rime build up on wires and posts, while a still pond freezes into sheets marked with trapped bubbles and cracks. For more on wire fences, see ice on fences and trees.

11. Frozen lakes. Clear lake ice can show deep cracks, bubbles and the dark water below. For moving lake ice on a giant scale, watch the Lake Winnebago ice shove.

Freezing rain and glaze ice on plants

Freezing rain starts as snow that melts in a warm layer of air high up, then falls through a shallow layer of freezing air near the ground. The drops become supercooled, still liquid below 0 °C, and freeze the instant they touch a surface. The result is clear glaze ice that follows every shape it coats. Once it passes about 6 mm, or a quarter of an inch, branches start to break.

12. Flower after an ice storm. 13. Frozen tree. 14. After freezing rain in China.

15. Frozen berries. 16. Frosted pine. 17. Frozen grass. 18. Grass after freezing rain.

19. Icicles on a blooming apple tree. A late frost can catch fruit trees in flower, sealing blossoms inside icicles. 20. Icicle bush. Dripping and refreezing water can hang a whole shrub with icicles.

Snow rollers and Fudgesicles

21. Snow rollers. These natural snowballs need a thin layer of wet, loose snow close to melting point, lying on a crust of ice or powder that it will not stick to, plus wind strong enough to roll it but not tear it apart. Most are a few centimetres wide, though some grow larger than a car. The inner layers are thin and often blow away, leaving a hollow ring like a doughnut or Swiss roll. Read more in Snow Rollers: Natural Cylinders Shaped by Movement.

22. Fudgesicles. The playful title for a row of icicles that looks good enough to eat.

Related reading

• Thirty Frozen Scenes: Ice on Buildings, Water, Plants and Everyday Objects
• Tom Gill’s Ice-Covered Lake Michigan Lighthouses
• Angela Kelly’s Frozen Bubbles: Ice Crystals, Reflections and Fragile Forms
• Yellowknife’s Hot-Water Cloud in Extreme Cold
• Abraham Lake’s Ice Bubbles: Layers beneath the Surface
• Nicole Dextras’ IceShifts: Clothing Given a Temporary Form
• A Wet T-Shirt Freezes in Dubuque: Temperature and Wind Chill
• Snow Rollers: Natural Cylinders Shaped by Movement

Sources