Snow bridge
Arc formed of snow across a crevasse
A snow bridge is an arc formed by snow across a crevasse, a crack in rock, a creek, or some other opening in terrain. It is typically formed by snow drift, which first creates a cornice, which may then grow to reach the other side of the opening.
01Dangers
A snow bridge may completely cover the opening and thus present a danger by creating an illusion of an unbroken surface under which the opening is concealed by an unknown thickness of snow, possibly only a few centimetres.
Snow bridges may also form inside a crevasse, making it appear shallow.
A snow bridge is thicker and stronger at the edge of a crevasse; therefore, a fall through a bridge usually happens at some distance from the edge.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Snow bridge”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Snow bridge near Småtindisen.jpg by Frankemann, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Glaciereaston.jpg by Mauri S. Pelto (talk · contribs), Public domain
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