As weather warms, people flock to catch glimpse of rare river ice disk in Kamloops

If you haven't already trekked to check out the ice disk in Kamloops, this might inspire you to lace up your boots.

The ice disk rotating on the South Thompson River is shrinking as the temperature warms up, as people flock to the area to catch a glimpse at the rare phenomenon before it completely melts.

One person set up a time-lapse of the rotating disk, which shows the disk spinning without hitting the surrounding ice. Initially, colliding with the surrounding ice was the process which created the perfect circular shape over a week ago.

Time-lapse Video of Ice Disc in the South Thompson River. A very rare natural phenomenon that occurs in slow moving water in cold climates. This disc formed in Kamloops BC during the week of January 20, 2020. #Kamloops #icedisc #coolstuff #nature #natgeo pic.twitter.com/5IT5tMLxeE

— Bill Rosmus (@show_donttellme) January 26, 2020

For natural wonders like this, drones are a great method to capture the full picture. This angle of the disk from high above gives a glimpse of its size, and shows its slow, calming rotations.

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The infamous ice circle in the #kamloops South Thimpson River. #icecircle #yka #explorepage #explorekamloops #explorebc #getoutside #dronestagram #cfjcnews #tourismkamloops #naturalphenomenon #naturevideos #ice #winter #2020 #dronephotography

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Jan 25, 2020 at 2:41pm PST

Even wildlife couldn’t stay away from the attraction. This Twitter user filmed as a river otter took a stroll near the disk.

River otter near the South Thompson ice disc #ice disc #Kamloops pic.twitter.com/YSkCFjfWCy

— Vince Strain (@crspvinnie) January 27, 2020

Temperatures are expected to be above zero all week, so check out this sight before it melts away. These shots were uploaded this morning, Jan. 27, and show the current size, which is significantly smaller than when it was first spotted over a week ago.

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A little late to the #icedisk2020 party, but here’s a modest attempt at capturing it’s essence. If you look closely, you can see what appears to be a new moon forming in addition to many satellites. It’s like a frozen flat earth ?? Yes, it does rotate. See my story for a video #ice #kamloops #kamloopsbc #kamloopsphotographer #kamloopsviews #explorekamloops #explorebc #bcphotographer #britishcolumbia #bcisbeautiful #beautifulbc #hellobc #hikebc

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Jan 27, 2020 at 9:09am PST

You can find the ice disk by taking a short hike along the Jack Gregson trail in Kamloops. It is directly across the river from the Tk’emlups powwow grounds.

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