People have been taking advantage of the harsh winter weather this season by visiting ice caves that have formed along the frozen waters of the Great Lakes.
The freezing temperatures that have gripped much of eastern Canada and the U.S. Midwest have resulted in large portions of the Great Lakes freezing over. And over the past few weeks, curious residents have taken to walking out onto the frozen waters to get a look at the ice caves first hand.
The caves form when snow and ice accumulate, creating huge ridges of ice along the shores of the lakes and other bodies of water.
As well, naturally-occurring caves are being turned into ice-covered playgrounds. According to the U.S. National Park Service, water seeps between the sandstone rock layers and freezes, resulting in the formation of large hanging icicles and sheets of ice.
This all amounts to some pretty spectacular winter scenery.
In Ontario, snowmobilers have been trekking out to Giants Tomb Island in the southeastern corner of Georgian Bay to get a look at some of the caves that have formed there.
Ice caves have formed near Giants Tomb Island in Ontario. (CTV Barrie)
Ice caves have formed near Giants Tomb Island in Ontario. (CTV Barrie)
Kate Dudman told CTV Barrie that the ice conditions in the area are better than they've been in years.
"There are so many words to describe it: awesome, epic, one for the books," she said. "Trail conditions have been awesome; with the amount of snow and ice conditions, we've gotten to places we haven't been in years. Really, it's unreal."
In February, people took photos with similar ice caves that formed along the shores of Lake Michigan:
(AP / John L. Russell)
(AP / John L. Russell)
Meanwhile the Apostle Islands in northern Wisconsin have become a hotspot for visitors hoping to get a look at some of the ice-covered caves.
To view them, visitors must cross about three kilometres of Lake Superior by foot roundtrip.
Photos of the caves have been posted to social media:
@RepairMethod hey Paul, what ya think? Apostle Island Ice Caves. you should see the others I have :)) #Nikon pic.twitter.com/klGS9DNdhu
— heather t (@helBENT4heather) February 27, 2014
A journey to the Apostle Island Ice Caves Islands #Wisconsin #icecaves #outside #nationalparks by baconwave pic.twitter.com/qiV19ZdBHq
— NationalParks Photos (@NatlParksPhotos) February 24, 2014
Ice Illustration #icecaves #wisconsin #nationalparks by baconwave pic.twitter.com/QiLYxF4u8N
— NationalParks Photos (@NatlParksPhotos) February 24, 2014
And in early February these images of the ice caves at the Apostle Islands were captured:
(AP / Minneapolis Star Tribune, Brian Peterson)
(AP / Minneapolis Star Tribune, Brian Peterson)
It is recommended that people interested in seeing the caves check on the latest information about the ice first by calling the Apostle Islands Ice Line at 715-779-3397 ext. 3.
In mid-February, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich., estimated that the ice was covering up to 88 per cent of the lakes.
The last time the lakes were covered in as much ice was in 1994, when about 90 per cent of the Great Lakes froze over.
With files from CTV Barrie's Roger Klein
