December 10, 2010

The ice came in to Lake Wicwas this week, right on schedule, and rather quickly.  The intersection of water and freezing temperatures may not feel very welcoming, but it certainly produces some amazing features for us to enjoy.

Monday morning the ice was spreading out from the shore until the wind came up and blew it back considerably.

December 6, 2010

But then with cold nights and days below freezing, by Thursday the lake was frozen over, and by Friday the ice was over 2 inches thick where I measured it.

December 9, 2010

The results of the cold temperatures and strong winds are still evident by the ice coated rocks along the downwind shores of the lake.

 

The rapid ice formation created very clear black ice that provides a unique view of the lake bottom, showing the leaves and reeds from summer locked at the bottom of the lake for the winter.






When very cold weather follows soon after wet weather, the ground is still wet, allowing ice crystals to grow up out of the soil - usually sandy soil - like mushrooms growing out of the ground.  They often grow up underneath stones which conduct the cold into the ground (technically, heat is conducted out of the ground), freezing the water in soil beneath them, which expands, pushing the stones right up into the air.  The first two pictures were taken today on the yellow trail in the Hamlin area, and the others area from an earlier freeze on the edge of a dirt road.

The streams in the Hamlin area are still flowing rapidly from the recent rains, and they also are forming interesting ice formations.  This frozen water fall is right at the bridge by the trail head.