Sunday, April 25, 2010
Frazil? What the heck is Frazil? Strange Ice at Yosemite National Park
A giant slurpee! Check out this interesting mini-documentary from the National Park Service and the Yosemite Fund (via YosemiteBlog.com). Frazil ice accumulates around the base of Yosemite Falls in the spring and does strange things. In some of the scenes, the ice flows alike a'a lava, complete with flow levees and breakouts. The footage of ice falling off the cliffs is pretty spectacular as well. It is fun to listen to when wandering about the area.
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4 comments:
Frazil ice is a new one on me. Very cool!
Actually, the flows are much more akin to pahoehoe than a'a
Yeah, I suppose they are, very similar to what I've seen on the floors of lava tubes, for instance. I was concentrating at the crumbly looking surfaces.
Thanks for the article. I was one of those visitors who saw it and didn't think anything of it (I just assumed it was churned up ice from break-up on the stream). Huh, frazil, what a great word.
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