Pogonip

January 04, 2005

Basket_epod copy

Provided and copyright by: Judy A Mosby
Summary author: Judy A Mosby

Pogonip is a dense frozen fog or rime fog, called the white death by the Shoshone peoples of the southwestern United States. The original Shoshone word is payinappih, which somehow turned into pogonip! Rime is the crystal deposition formed by the rapid freezing of supercooled fog or water droplets onto exposed objects. These crystals are sometimes referred to as hoar frost, and on occasion, are thick enough to resemble a covering of snow. Interlocking ice crystals adhering to trees, leaves, and fences, give a winter wonderland appearance to the landscape. In addition, fine feathers, needles and spines can be found on just about any object exposed to supersaturated air at below freezing temperatures. On the photo above, taken on December 3, 2004, from Rye Patch, Nevada, my metal hanging basket was exquisitely decorated by Jack Frost. See also yesterday's Earth Science Picture of the Day.

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[Revised 12/17]