A relatively rare blanket of ice rested on the surface of Lake Superior in early March 2009.
Published Mar 13, 2009
Roughly the same size of Belgium, Canada’s Great Slave Lake runs nearly 2,000 feet deep.
Published May 24, 2019
Lake Erie is usually the first to freeze over because it is shallower than the other Great Lakes.
Published Feb 18, 2018Image of the Day Atmosphere Temperature Extremes Sea and Lake Ice
Southwesterly winds pull strands of land-fast ice out into the lake from Washington Island and Detroit Island.
Published Mar 10, 2014
Nearly 90 percent of the lake was ice-covered on January 9, 2014.
Published Jan 15, 2014
People and satellites keep an eye on when ice on the world’s deepest lake melts each year.
Published May 10, 2012
The alpine lakes of the Tibetan Plateau are some of the most remote in the world. This mosaic of astronaut photographs, taken along a single International Space Station orbit track, depicts Lake Puma Yumco during the winter season. The lake is located at an elevation of 5,030 meters above sea level (16,503 feet), and is considered ultraoligotrophic, meaning that nutrient concentrations in both the water column and lake sediments are extremely low. Water in such lakes tends to be blue to blue-green and to have high clarity due to low levels of photosynthesizing organisms such as phytoplankton. Color change in these lakes is usually due to shallowing of the water—blue indicating deeper water. A depth transition is visible along the west-southwest shoreline of Lake Puma Yumco at the lower left of image. The most striking feature of the image mosaic, however, is the intricate ice block pattern on the lake surface.
Published Feb 27, 2006
Summer beachgoers and fishers have been getting a wintery surprise on Lake Superior.
Published Jun 12, 2014
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed frozen Lake Sakakawea while the air temperature near the lake was a frigid -24°C (-11°F).
Published Feb 27, 2012
While most scientific and public attention goes to glaciers, lake and river ice have interesting stories to tell as well.
Published Jul 5, 2017
Lake Erie’s shallowness not only makes it more prone to fluctuating water levels, but also enables this lake to freeze and thaw more readily than its neighbors.
Published Mar 16, 2007
Ice cover on the world’s largest freshwater lake remains significantly above average for mid-April.
Published Apr 24, 2014
Accessed January 24, 2011, this natural-color image shows ice coating Lake Baikal.
Published Jan 24, 2011
