Ice volcanoes and other Lake Michigan oddities

The latest installment of our series is a little more detailed and a little more fascinating. Along the shores of Lake Michigan (and other Great Lakes beaches), under the right conditions you can find snowy formations like miniature mountains. When the temperatures warm enough and the surf grows violent, great plumes of water can jet out of the now-open holes to create “ice volcanoes“. (For video, see here.)

Right now, you can take a stroll down the path at Doctors Park (at the Bayside/Fox Point border) and head north to find many of the fascinating winter formations created by nature through a combination of wind and water. Upon examination, you can find whole small-scale landscapes and items like smooth ice rocks that match the water-worn skipping stones around them.

For a friendlier walk and an education, we recommend visiting the Schlitz Audubon Center just north of there.  It’s only $4 for adults and $2 for children, but unlike the free county park the center allows access to a warm place (the Dorothy K. Vallier Environmental Learning Center).

Now about that mystery ice heart you may have seen on the front page or down below. We don’t know the story behind it, either. One of the advantages of Doctors Park is the solitude; on the first trip there wasn’t a single soul (not even a bird); on the second trip, while tiny figures occasionally dotted the shoreline, no one was near this piece of found art. Happy post-Valentine’s Day, everyone.