While I was enjoying spending my time on the ice of Lake Mendota, I realized that it was also fascinating to examine what was IN the ice.
I didn’t have to search; I only had to look down to see the intriguing shapes and patterns made by bubbles and small cracks in the ice. In the photo above my son was examining a very long structure that looked like a crack twisted into a spiral. A closer view of this feature is shown in one of the photos in the slide show below. Other photos show the variety of formations. The final image below was taken in a pressure ridge near the shore where the expanding ice buckled up and cracked to form a ridge. All of the others were taken on the relatively smooth surface of the 15.2 square mile ice rink.
If you live in Wisconsin it helps to learn how to enjoy the winter!