February 26, 2018
February 25, 2018
February 24, 2018
February 22, 2018
Cold River
Every winter after an extended period of sub-zero weather brought by an influx of cold air down from the Arctic, ice builds up on the Flathead River in this location which is about 150 miles south and west of Glacier National Park, a few miles from where it flows into the Clark Fork of the Columbia River. It’s always worth a visit.
The ice cakes form over an area of several miles upstream where the river is smooth and slower moving. When it reaches this canyon, the river narrows and becomes quite deep and fast flowing and the ice cakes that have formed above collect and pile up on the river surface in the canyon. In many parts of Montana ice dams similar to this can cause problems with flooding, but this one causes no trouble.