ice-pipe

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A projecting tube of ice which is produced by frost in regions whose surface soil is a tough, water-soaked clay. The upper layer of the soil is first frozen solid for a shallow depth. As the frost solidifies and expands the lower-lying layers, the neighboring water is forced to spurt through the crust at innumerable points, freezing as it emerges and forming the ice-pipes. Van Hise, U. S. Geol. Surv. Monographs, XLVII. 444.