Visakha

Photo: Chip Phillips

While this stunning image of frozen Abraham Lake in Alberta, Canada may look like a perfectly tranquil and picturesque postcard scene, something more menacing – and explosive – lurks beneath the surface. The crisp, bluish-white, cotton wool-like formations are actually frozen bubbles of flammable methane gas trapped in the icy manmade lake. As spring sets in and the lake thaws, the bubbles break free and rise to the top. And when the ice cracks, the bubbles escape and vanish into the atmosphere.