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Kelowna resident finds ‘ice volcanoes’ at regional park

The frozen structures are likely made out of frozen creek water, Environment Canada said
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A Kelowna resident found several hollow frozen structures as pictured in Mill Creek Regional Park. (Scott)

A Kelowna resident is in awe after stumbling upon some “ice volcanoes”.

Scott said he knew there would be something cool outdoors once the cold snap settled in, on Monday, Feb. 15, he went out with the hope he’ll find an ice formation.

His original plan was to go up to Fintry Falls but decided against it and started exploring Mill Creek Regional Park instead. What he found near the falls surprised him.

“When I saw the first one, it was cool, and it reminded me of an alien egg sack,” he said.

“It had an opening in it and I saw it was hollow. I could see that the water just rushing past underneath.”

He said the icy volcanoes weren’t exactly what he had in mind when he set out looking for ice formations.

“I just thought it was really cool and I was really fascinated by it. It was really cool how Mother Nature just did that.”

“When I went out, I knew I’d be happy to find whatever but when I saw these, I was very surprised because it was so unexpected,” he said.

He said the ice volcanoes made the trip up to Mill Creek in the cold all worth it in the end.

Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist said it’s not quite a weather phenomenon, but the formation was certainly affected by the cold temperatures in the region.

“If I take off my meteorology hat and put on my science hat, I’d say it was probably that as it got cold and water was bubbling up, there wasn’t enough pressure to push the water back down and because it was so cold, it just froze in place,” he said.

“All sorts of things happen when it gets cold and when you get out there, all over there’s a lot of beauty in Mother Nature and there’s something new every day.”

Lundquist said as the temperature warms up, the “ice volcanoes” will likely melt away soon.

As for Scott, he said he hopes people go up to see the structures.

“If people do go up there to see them, just look at them and don’t try to touch them or try to kick them or push them.”

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Twila Amato
Video journalist, Black Press Okanagan
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Twila Amato

About the Author: Twila Amato

Twila was a radio reporter based in northern Vancouver Island. She won the Jack Webster Student Journalism Award while at BCIT and received a degree in ancient and modern Greek history from McGill University.
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