Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Drone captures stunning footage of frozen lake in China

Branch-like cracks appear in the ice, caused by sudden drops in temperature

Kate Ng
Thursday 23 January 2020 07:09 EST
Comments
Frozen lake in Xinjiang, China has beautiful pattern

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Aerial footage captured by a drone over a frozen lake in northwest China shows cracks in the ice that look like tree branches.

Aerial footage captured by a drone over the icy Butterfly Lake
Aerial footage captured by a drone over the icy Butterfly Lake (CCTV)

The rare phenomenon occurred in the icy layer that formed over Butterfly Lake, located in Gongliu County within the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region.

The spidery appearance of the cracks is caused by sudden temperature drops, state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) reported. The broadcaster captured the footage on 17 January.

Butterfly Lake is a man-made lake shaped like the winged insect for which it is named, with a pedestrian bridge running down the middle.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in