A tour of the world's most fascinating and beautiful ice caves.
Interesting Ice Caves: Eisriesenwelt, Austria
Located forty kilometers south of Salzburg, Austria on Mount Hochkogel, the Eisriesenwelt cave is the largest ice cave in the world. Discovered in 1879 by natural scientist Anton Posselt, the name translates to the “World of Ice Giants,” which is a rather apt one given that the ice and limestone covered wonder stretches for 38 kilometers.
While the Salzach River erosion process formed passageways in the mountain to create Eisriesenwelt, other ice caves in the region were formed by snow thawing, seeping into the slots and eventually freezing there during the winter.
Patagonia Glacier National Park, Argentina
The Glacier National Park in Patagonia, Argentina is home to some of the most amazing glaciers in the world. Embedded within these glaciers are various ice caves to explore, all of which have been formed by water running through or under the glacier.
Big Four Ice Caves
Located in the Cascade Range of Washington, the Big Four Mountain trail’s illustrious caves make it one of the most popular hiking destinations in the state. The mountain itself is over 6,000 feet tall and its staggering ice caves are created during the summer when snow melts and causes ice debris to pile up.
Intricate Ice Caves: Vatnajökull, Iceland
With pristine blue ice caves located inside of it, Vatnajökull is the largest glacier in Iceland. The glacier and the caves maintain centuries old ice and are able to be enjoyed thanks to the ice that flows from the region’s tallest active volcano.
Mount Erebus Ice Caves, Antarctica
Mount Erebus houses numerous ice caves that are the mystifying results of the Erebus volcano’s hot gases. The volcanic gases travel up through the cracks in the rock and seep into the summit of the mountain, where they eventually form an intricate system of ice caves.
Rather rococo, each ice cave room is covered in hexagonal ice crystals and ice particles that hang from the ceiling.
If you enjoyed seeing these incredible ice caves, be sure to see All That Is Interesting’s articles on the most surreal places in the world and New Zealand’s iridescent caves.
