Nature's Wonder

Throughout the natural world, many shapes are found again and again in different contexts. We see circles, ellipses, spirals, waves, lines, polygons, and many other shapes at various levels of complexity.


Here we have what appear to be feathers similar to those found on birds, but in this case, made entirely of ice, formed spontaneously over the top of a wet spot of ground. As the temperature dropped, the water feeding this puddle slowed, lowering its level. Molecule by molecule, water evaporated from the top of the lowered puddle and condensed on the crystals that had already begun to form on the earlier surface of the puddle, arranging themselves in this pattern.