The rooms of her icewater mansion

March 5, 2019 1:07 PM

More than three quarters of Lake Superior is covered in ice right now, making this an above average winter for ice on the lake. Superior is vast, containing about 10 per cent of the world's fresh surface water, and it rarely comes close to a complete freeze-over. But years where more complete freezing takes place, like 2014, allow for increased access to the spectacular ice caves that form along the Apostle Islands and other shoreline locations. It can be a tight squeeze, and caution is warranted.

Photos:

Ice Caves - Lake Superior

Winter Splendor Unveiled at Ice Caves

Some ice caves of other Great Lakes:

Lake Huron Ice Caves on the Bruce Peninsula

Lake Michigan...ice cave exploring

Lake Michigan...ice cave exploring II

Meanwhile, on Lake Erie, you can experience an ice shove.

posted by mandolin conspiracy (9 comments total)

Erie is one weird lake. Shallow, sandy with pockets of natural gas just below the bed and some crazy current rip. The speed and size of ice shoves are scary. Ice blocks can be car-sized. By the Grand River near Dunnville you can sometimes find huge slabs of ice far further inland than you'd expect. Any boats or docks in the way end up as matchsticks.
posted by scruss at 1:30 PM on March 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

It could even be said to be seiche-tacular.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:37 PM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

Great post title.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:41 PM on March 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

My hydrodynamicist friends describe Erie as a bathtub. As a canoe tripper, I call it a frikken nightmare. 2-3m waves at shore, rough in even the lightest wind. It's the most dangerous lake for paddle-powered boats. Seiche-tacular indeed.
posted by bonehead at 4:57 PM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Meanwhile, on the East Coast…Ice Wall.
posted by boost ventilator at 5:47 PM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

If you ever had a premonition that you were going to die due to icicle impalement... I'd probably steer clear of that cave.

Super neat, though.
posted by Kadin2048 at 6:19 PM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Our (U.S.) mint made a lovely coin of the Apostle Islands.
posted by Afghan Stan at 8:49 PM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Okay, I'm glad I'm not alone in my concern about impalement by glossy melting icicle. Also those children popping into a tight squeeze in one of those videos! Out of the reach of adults, and who knows where they'll come out.

Sure was gorgeous though.
posted by ktkt at 1:18 AM on March 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

I was a couple hundred yards out on the ice, fishing in Lake Superior, two weeks ago. What a surreal experience - and scary in the same way that flying can be. I was there as the sun went down, and once it was gone the bitter cold combined with the vast emptiness of the landscape to give a convincing impression that I was on another planet entirely. Here[insta] is a photo I took that day of the full moon rising over the ice. Haven't made it to the apostles yet, but I've heard the mile+ walk to the caves is quite an experience.
posted by dbx at 9:34 AM on March 6, 2019 [5 favorites]