Lake Superior Ice 2021
Lake Superior Ice 2021, I wanted to finish this week off with the last of my winter snow photos of Lake Superior. It is actually raining here today. So all this ice you see in these photos is but a memory now. These photos were all taken with a drone at the end of February. There were quite a few nights of -18 F to create this much ice on this giant lake.
Lake Superior is not only the largest of the great lakes, it also has the largest surface area of any fresh water lake in the world. It contains 3000 cubic miles of water. That is enough water to fill all the other great lakes plus 3 additional Lake Erie’s.
It is hard to describe the size of the ice heaves, shoves or I call the big ones cliffs out in the middle, that you see in these photos.
Lake ice formation is dynamic. Even when a lake is completely frozen, the ice is not stagnant. It expands and contracts as it warms and cools. Differences in day and night temperatures can be large enough to cause the ice to crack. As the air temperature drops at night, lake ice cools and contracts. Since the ice is stuck to the shoreline, the entire sheet cannot contract as a whole, so cracks develop in the ice.
When the ice warms during the day, it expands. This expansion can cause a collision between both sides of the crack, which can cause the ice to buckle up at that pressure point.
This picture below, I am standing over in the shadow of the trees and I cannot see over the ice chunks closest to the beach. They are that tall.
This is my view from the shoreline so you can see how tall this first row of ice is.
So I can only imagine how tall these ice formations are, farther out into the water. By the look of the shadow I can Imagine I am just a tiny speck if I were standing near it.
This is a close up of the ice in the center of the first photo above.
And here is the grand finale. Lake Superior 2021, this photo is facing East looking along the shoreline.
And this one is facing West. That is a lot of ice and when you see that much ice you know it was really cold.
Lake Superior Ice 2021
38 Replies to “Lake Superior Ice 2021”
Unbelievable! It looks for me like the mountains.
Thank you, yes it is so different looking in the winter.
wow those ice cliffs are quite something..;-)
Thank you Lisa, yes one can’t really tell how large they are way out there. But they look big just by the shadows.
Beautiful!
Thank you Sophia 😊
Good stuff Sandra I grew up on Lake Erie and we used to make forts out of the ice that was pushed onto the beach. lots of it
Keep laughing, It don’t cost nothing
We never did that, but building snow forts was a big thing. 😊
This was fascinating Sandra. I still think it looks like sand dunes … it is hard to imagine this much ice and as tall as you describe it too. I had always thought it was flatter and not mounds like you show us here. Very incredible to see in these pictures and you can feel the cold just by looking at your photos.
Thank you Linda, yes most lakes are flat ice, not this one. It is like another world in the winter.
We are lucky we get to see this wonderful sight thanks to you and your camera.
Beautiful… I have no concept of lake ice.
Thank you Greg, it can be scary, it is always moving and cracking..
Looks like it!
Fascinating! I live in North Carolina, so can’t imagine! Thank you so much for sharing these photos and your descriptions.
You are very welcome Janet 🙂
Superb captured… Nice photography 💯
Thank you very much 🙂
I hate cold and winter… but your photos are beautiful !
Thanks, Sandra, have a great day…
You are very welcome Francine, thank you. 😊 have a wonderful day
Fantastic photography, Sandra ~ winter, and especially ice on Lake Superior, is truly a beautiful sight to behold 📸❣️ Thank you for sharing, my dear friend 😊
You are so welcome Phil, it is a wonderous place 🙂 and have a great day
Most impressive! I’ve never seen that in person, but have always been fascinated with the great lakes. They may as well be inland seas.
Thank you Ron, it is quite impressive. I have not seen the other great lakes yet.
Some beautiful unique photos!
Very impressive, those masses of ice on the edge of the lake!
Yes, I was up there yesterday and it is almost all gone already. 😊
I love snow and ice…
It is so pretty. 😊
How amazing is this Sandra, you have become n iceologist sharing all these interesting vistas.
😊 yes, there is so much of it here, the frozen tundra. But I am ready for spring now.
Beautiful pic! ❤️😊
Beautiful. I’ve only seen the lake in summer.
Amazing place it is, I love going there in the summer as well.
Dear Sandra J, i am nearly 70 years of age and will never forget the one day in my life that i was in snow. About a metre deep, cold, most beautiful experience. All the rest is in my natural habitat of red soil vast distance heat and flies. Bless you for these wonderful insights. Be safe and well. peace and love from Oz.
It is so amazing all the different climates that we live in. I grew up here, where winter is the longest season of the year. So I truly enjoy every bit of the warm days of summer, for they go by so fast. But as I get older I kind of like the idea of traveling to warmer climates for part of the winter. 😊
All your beautiful work is an inspiration. May we all learn to love and live in whatever mother nature provides, for we are still brother and sister on one lonely planet. Where we belong to the place we are, to love and protect it.
You are so right and beautifully said. Thank you Gary.