If you were caught up in the “polar vortex” that blasted through the U.S. and Canada last week, you may have seen some of the seriously spooky stuff that happens to water at extreme subzero temperatures. One of the most heart-stopping examples of freezing phenomena took place at Niagara Falls after the thermometer stayed below zero long enough – and the gigantic waterfall partially froze.
Photo: Aaron Haris/Reuters
Reuters photographer Aaron Harris captured the spooky 200-foot ice curtains that encased the falls, which sits on the border between the U.S. and Canada. The formations shown here are on the U.S. side.
Photo: Aaron Haris/Reuters
While it's extremely rare for such a massive waterfall to freeze this deeply, this incident may not be the first: one early account comes from the mid-19th century, and the Niagara Falls Public Library has archival photos from the early and middle 20th century depicting frozen falls. According to Yahoo News, the authenticity of those early images (not to mention several “new” entries circulating the web) is now in question, but in this case it's definitely the real deal.
Photo: Aaron Haris/Reuters
Check out the entire breathtaking slideshow at Yahoo News.