China’s Frozen Cave that Doesn’t Melt in Summer

China’s Frozen Cave that Doesn’t Melt in Summer ningwu-ice-cave-6

China owns an 85-meter deep pin shaped frozen wonderland, named Ningwu cave, in the mountain range of the Shanxi province. Its structure is subterranean inside the mountain that never melts even in summer. The large stalactites and the spikes of the ice extend from the ceiling to floor. However the floor and walls are completely covered with the thick layers of ice. Ningwu’s unique and excellent ability of not thawing throughout the warm seasons increases its popularity and makes it a must visit place. This always frozen cave can be seen in the high teen list due to the uniqueness of the phenomenon.

There are many such caves where the ice never melts throughout the year in other regions as well, such as Central Asia, continental Europe, and North America. But the reason of their non-melting nature is that they are located in the cooler places where the always low temperature keeps the cave stay at freezing points such as Iceland, Russi and Alaska. Eisriesenwelt, is the world’s largest cave situated at 40km south of Salzburg in Werfen, Austria. However, there are other cases too where the warm climates also deal with the ice caves well.

Such caves are also known as the “cold traps” as the funnels and exits inside the caves doesn’t allow the warm air to enter inside during summer and give the convenience to cold airs of winter to enter. The cold air is heavier which resolves into the cave and therefore, in summer, once cold air enters inside cannot exit as the place of warm air is lighter and cannot enter.

The inner environment of the cave stabilizes the temperature of ice inside the cave, indirectly playing the role of the buffer. Before the entered warm air could cause significant damage to the temperature inside and let the ice melt, its buffering system cools the warm air instantly. It does cause a little damage somehow, but doesn’t let the ambient temperature destroy. However, it is also true that the very cold air in the winter causes some damage. When the very cold air flows, the water freezes which creates heat and stops the plummeting too low temperature.

The availability of necessary quantity of water over the right time has to be ensured for the formation of ice caves. The climate must be as warm as it may cause the mountains to be covered with the sufficient snow and reluctantly the summer should have as high temperature as it may cause the ice melt but not to the level that the ice turn into streams. That’s why a perfect atmospheric balance should have been maintained to form and balance the freezing and melting behavior of the ice.

In the American Midwest, there is a largest cave of US which contains ice named, Decorah Ice cave. It doesn’t have a constant nature of freezing. It freezes usually in the winter and remains ice less mostly in fall winter and throughout summer. In Pennsylvania, Coudersport Ice Mine is also one of the similar ice cave which is a small pit, where ice melts in winter and the ice cave forms in the summer months due to chilly winds throughout the season.

China’s Frozen Cave that Doesn’t Melt in Summer eisriesenwelt-cave