A winter landscape changes everything.

Suddenly, everything becomes that much more dramatic, more barren, and a bit more isolated. Cities become quiet and still, the countryside is blanketed in a fresh layer of white snow and crisp air. Everything in between feels slower as if the actual passage of time has paused for a while. This is why winter often feels so long and why many of us notice that sleep comes a bit more easily than usual. One of the places that exude this feeling more than any other is a lake. There's something about a frozen layer of water that was once active, alive with fish, full of gentle waves, and teetering with ripples and insects that make everything that much more... solitary.

In the same sense, this stark, frozen-in-time beauty is exactly what draws us lakeside. Having the chance to witness Mother Nature's stillness, which is just as powerful, in all of its glory is why a frozen lake is so fascinating. Around the world, there are just some lakes that come alive in the winter as opposed to the summer.

Lake Abraham, Canada

Lake Abraham is well-known due to its levels of methane that occur at the bottom of the lake from natural decay. As this gas rises to the surface, during the colder months, it becomes trapped in between layers of ice. Therefore, when visiting the lake, many people are able to see each individual gas bubble as it became trapped, mid-motion, just under the surface.

Lake Superior, US

Lake Superior lives up to its name on any given day but especially during the winter. The most beautiful things about this enormous Great Lake are the ice caves that are produced as a result of water freezing almost instantly. With temperatures that routinely drop below freezing, the effect is nothing short of magical and truly majestic. Entire cascades of water become frozen, suspended in time, and when the water is frozen to its maximum thickness, people can actually explore these giant, natural ice sculptures.

Lake Michigan, US

Also known as the most dangerous lake in the country is Lake Michigan. This lake, on a normal day, has tremendous power and is one incredible example of Mother Nature's force when it comes to waterways. In the winter, the lake takes on a different appearance, freezing, thawing, and re-freezing, creating massive sheets of ice that eventually float up onto the shore to create jagged, sharp-looking pieces of glass-like ice fragments.

Lake Braies, Italy

In Italy, Lake Braies is also home to a waterfall that gets transformed into an incredible sight during the region's coldest months. This waterfall becomes frozen solid, with water seeming to freeze almost instantly in place before many cascades even have the chance to make it to the ground. Each year, many people traverse the waterfall and come here for photos, as this phenomena can only be seen once a year.

Druzhby, Antarctica

It's no surprise that Antarctica is home to a frozen lake, but Druzhby is truly special. Similar to Lake Abraham, this lake showcases frozen bubbles of gas just under the surface as they freeze instantaneously. Additionally, during some unique weather conditions, ice 'flowers' are formed on the surface of the lake - as different parts of the water freeze, combined with wind speeds, they take on the form of sharp-looking, tiger lily-like flowers that float along the surface of the lake.

Baikal, Siberia

Siberia is known as being one of the coldest places on earth so it's not surprising that Lake Baikal is one of the most beautiful lakes to see in person. When the temperatures drop extremely low and the water currents are still moving, enormous slabs of ice, inches upon inches thick, wash ashore, creating what appears to be fields of glass. In fact, it could be called nature's frozen beach glass - except for the fact that it's all ice.

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Jökulsárlón, Iceland

While Jökulsárlón is not frozen all the time, it does produce uniquely-shaped ice boulders that take on the illusion of something sculpted out of glass. Furthermore, this lake holds a beautiful secret - in the right conditions, when the lake is frozen and the northern lights are dancing above, the lake reflects the light back, making a mirror image of the aurora borealis.

Blue Pond, Hokkaido

Hokkaido, Japan, has been left wholly untouched which is why its winter landscape is so stunning. Blue Pond is also home to groves of trees that spring up from the water and, during the winter, these same trees become surrounded by the frozen waters below them. The resulting sight is nothing short of ethereal as blue light illuminates the landscape, combined with the moonlight overhead.

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