PARADISE TOWNSHIP, Mich. – In the cold of December, the most well-known waterfalls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are serving up a special treat: ice pancakes.
In a photo shared by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources earlier this month, pancake ice can be seen forming along the Tahquamenon Falls in northern Michigan’s Paradise Township. The “pancakes” are discs of ice that form naturally under specific conditions in bodies of water, and they can be spotted in the Great Lakes during the winter months.
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Pancake ice can form into discs of many sizes, ranging anywhere from 7 inches across to 10 feet across, and they can get up to around 4 inches thick. The discs are created when waves or waters force forming pieces of ice to run into one another, which rounds their edges. The ice pancakes’ signature raised edges are formed when they crash into one another, and as water splashes and freezes along the rim of the pancake.
As these pieces freeze and grow, they maintain their rounded shape. In the ocean, under more turbulent conditions, the individual pancakes can be pushed on top of each other and eventually freeze together to form a solid sheet of ice.
Pancake ice is found in rivers and lakes, and is especially common in the ocean in colder climates.
While I wouldn’t recommend eating it, the ice pancakes are a fun way to experience winter waters in a state that spends so much time being so cold.
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