Yosemite Frazil Ice

One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Yosemite was to get the chance to see frazil ice. Yosemite Creek is famous for frazil ice, but the temperatures have to be perfect for it to form. It needs to be a clear, cold night where temperatures get down into the 20s or lower so that the mist from Upper Yosemite Falls and Lower Yosemite Falls freezes to the rocks on the way down. Then the day needs to be sunny and warm enough to melt that ice that froze overnight so that it falls off the sides of the waterfall walls and into the river forming a type of slush in Yosemite Creek. This slushy mess is called frazil ice. Unfortunately, I wasn’t lucky enough to see any frazil ice on my visit, but here are a couple of videos that show why I was hoping to see it (and why I will be going back until I get the opportunity to witness frazil ice)

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