Tuesday, December 23, 2008

THE TEMPORARY GEOLOGY OF WINTER


The current cold snap we're having (actually, it feels more like a cold wallop!) has stilled the lake for as far out as I can see. In the first stage, water began to thicken along the breakwall. To me it kind of resembles magma flowing from an errupting volcano...








...then as the waves cooled further, it turned into a heaving layer of newly forming ice...





After that, the big winds came up. Here's what a day and night of 40 mi/60 km winds can do to the once-flat landscape of ice - whole tectonic plates of frozen lake water bend, break, and ride up over each other until whole ranges of ice are thrust up against the shore. Some peaks out there are as tall as a person! It's an interesting new winter terrain to look at out my window. If the cold keeps up long enough, residents along the shore can scramble out there for some fun. Coyotes and foxes will wander out in search of something to eat, or simply because they can. Farther out, on the flatter stretches, ice-fishing shanties will dot the landscape. Of course this frozen land mass won't last; it's not like a new volcanic island, but while it's there, people and animals will move out to explore and exploit it, just as with any other part of the earth.

7 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Okay, I won't complain about the cold here anymore! Wow! it's beautiful, but I got the shivers just looking at your beautiful photos! I do hope you have a wonderful holiday, Deborah!

Anonymous said...

Wow it does look like a rock formation.Love the post title.

I like snow and ice though, it makes me so joyful when I see the first crocus peeping thru. I like the changes each season brings.I don;t even mind our March & April Nor'Easter Blizzards ...

Alberta Clippers are really something, too!


squirrel

inchil - but the word veri should be icyrox

Rose said...

I would love to be witness to this just once in my life...I don't know why but the I am fascinated by the Great Lakes.

Quiet Paths said...

Fascinating. It's so beautiful! Flathead will do this to some extent but not the big ice waves. Great photos. I hope you are staying warm with your ON Wallop.

Mary said...

Wow, that is so beautiful!

Small City Scenes said...

Wow, that is amazing. We don't have anything like that out here. MB

Raven said...

Looks so bleak and beautiful at the same time. Brrrr.