Most of us North Dakotans are pretty used to the weird things our winters throw at us. Sun dogs, for example, are very common to us in the chilly months, but people in other states would be baffled by them. This, however, is something that would baffle most anyone.

Winter means cold, and the rivers and lakes in the state freeze over. Sometimes the ice breaks and flows along the rivers current- but have you ever seen this?

Wikimedia

George Loegering took this video on the Sheyenne River while out hunting. This is what is known as an ice disc, or ice pan, but they rarely form as huge as this one.

These actually do happen once in a while in cold climates. There isn’t a set conclusion on how they form, but the general theory is that broken up ice pieces freeze together while being trapped in an eddy current. An eddy current is the resulting swirl when a reverse current flows past an obstacle – like when you pull something straight through a liquid and a swirl appears.

Have you ever seen one of these? Do you know of any other interesting or weird things like this that are in or can happen in North Dakota? Share with us in the comments!

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