ice jellyfish

Ice jellyfish formations spotted in Toronto

It may be freezing cold in Toronto right now which can make you want to just huddle inside, but if you get out there to some of our awesome parks you might just see the most amazing things: like ice jellyfish.

Foot courier Willy Kung, who does photography as a hobby, was at the Leslie Street Spit on Jan. 25 when he spotted some very unusual ice formations and started snapping.

The phenomenon occurs on shorelines when layers of ice form over rocks, creating a cap. When water drips off the caps, it creates thin tentacle-like formations.

"I have seen ice formations here at this park before, but never seen these particular shapes of ice," Kung tells blogTO. "Quite beautiful."

Kung was actually out at the park hoping to spot some animals, but ended up with more shots of the interesting ice formations. He did manage to get some video of a red-tailed hawk before it flew away.

He says you can basically go anywhere near Lake Ontario if you're looking for cool ice formations, but some of his favourite places are Ashbridges Bay, Woodbine Beach and Trillium Park.

The jellyfish ice is far from the only interesting ice phenomenon around the lake: people have also spotted "pancake ice" near the water's edge, and we've been warned to watch out for ice volcanoes.

Here in Toronto, we know winter turns the shoreline into a wonderland, and we'll stop at nothing to interact with Lake Ontario. People have been skating on it, bathing in it, setting up saunas on it, swimming it in it and even walking across it when it's frozen.

Lead photo by

Willy Kung


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