Pictures: Lighthouse Turned Into Ice Castle

Ohio Ice Palace

Photograph by David Sands, My Shot

High winds and a few solid weeks of below-freezing temperatures have caused multiple layers of frozen spray to build up on the 67-foot-tall (20-meter-tall) West Pierhead Lighthouse, seen in a December 19 picture taken by National Geographic My Shot user  David Sands.

"People think, Oh, it's just a lake, and it doesn't have that much weather," Petty Officer Degener said. "But with the size of the body of water we have here and the extreme weather, the seas can reach 8 to 10 feet [2.4 to 3 meters] high in a short period of time," Degener said.

The fourth largest of North America's five Great Lakes, Lake Erie (map) recahes a maximum width of 57 miles (92 kilometers).

(Related: "Giant Crystal Caves Yield New 'Ice Palace,' More.")

Published December 23, 2010

Naked Lighthouse

Photograph by Ella Spiri, My Shot

Seen in a September 2008 picture taken by National Geographic My Shot user Ella Spiri, Cleveland's West Pierhead Lighthouse looks much like any other lighthouse. But come winter, it and other Great Lakes lighthouses sometimes turn into fairy castles, birthday cakes, or whatever wintry description best fits.

Ice buildup on Great Lakes lighthouses are not uncommon. "You're going to get ice buildup whenever the weather is this way," Degener said. But the 2010 freeze-out happened much earlier, because frigid temperatures arrived sooner than usual.

The extent of the freezing in 2010 is also exceptional. It's rare for ice to coat a lighthouse so thoroughly that the light is no longer visible.

(Read about the "incredible shrinking Great Lakes.")

Published December 23, 2010

Soaring Spectacle on Lake Erie

Photograph by Dale McDonald, My Shot

Gulls surround Cleveland's West Pierhead Lighthouse early on December 19 in a picture taken by National Geographic My Shot user Dale McDonald.

For now, no plans have been hatched to thaw the lighthouse, so it will likely remain frozen through March, given Cleveland's "dynamic" climate, Degener said. "We've had snow on baseball opening day."

Published December 23, 2010