After visiting the
volcano we made the short hike to the ice cave.
The ice cave is
located in a collapsed lava tube. There
were several steps to get there.
We saw beautiful
colored lichens on the way down.
This cave is really
interesting. The temperature never gets
above 31 degrees! The floor is
approximately 20 feet deep.
This isn't the type of cave you walk into and explore. As we were walking down to the plateform the air was getting considerably cooler. The deepest ice is the
oldest and dates back to 1100 AD.
The green tint is caused by an Arctic algae.
The ice was
“harvested” in 30s and 40s to chill the beer that was served in the Saloon of
the Ice Cave Trading Post.
The ice cave was a great ending to our day.
Next time: To The Bat Cave!
We were in a cave in Oregon (I think) that had an ice offshoot. The ice there was just regular white and blue. I wonder how the arctic algea formed on the ice in your cave? My guess is the white ice is fairly young.
ReplyDeleteThat’s a good question! I've been reading up on ice algae. So far all the information I’ve found has to do with algae blooms in the summer when the ice is melting.
ReplyDeleteThere was some white ice around the front edge.