Skip to content

Ice volcanoes erupt along the shores of Okanagan Lake

From floating pancakes to dangling icicles, nature has turned this cold snap into works of art

From ice volcanoes and floating pancakes to icicles dangling to create works of art, this cold snap has turned the Okanagan Lake shores into nature’s sculptures.

Not everybody likes these frigid temperatures but one benefit is the spectacular ice formations found right up and down the lake.

Ice volcanoes are popping up all along the lakeshore from Rotary Beach to Peach Orchard Park in Summerland, along Lakeshore Drive.

Ice volcanoes have formed all along the lake shore in Summerland between Rotary beach and Peach Orchard. (Monique Tamminga Western News)

An ice volcano is a conical mound of ice formed over a lake via the eruption of water and slush through an ice shelf. The process is wave-driven, with wind providing the energy for the waves to cut through the ice and form the so-called volcanoes. The liquid water and slush freeze and fall back to the surface, growing the formation.

Most common on the great lakes, they are also becoming quite common on Okanagan Lake.

But these fantastic ice formations won’t stick around for long. According to Environment Canada, Monday is the last day of frigid temperatures and then we start to warm up a bit, hovering around the one degree Celsius mark.

Plan your future adventures throughout the West Coast at westcoasttraveller.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @thewestcoasttraveller. And for the top West Coast Travel stories of the week delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our weekly Armchair Traveller newsletter!



Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
Read more