Strange 'ice volcanoes' erupt on frozen lake in incredible footage

From Vesuvius to Etna, our planet has several ferocious volcanoes.

But aside from the typical volcanoes, are volcanoes of a slightly different form - ice volcanoes.

Now, the US National Weather Service has shared astonishing footage of ice volcanoes erupting at Lake Michigan this week.

It tweeted photos of the ice volcanoes in action, writing: “It was a great day to visit the beach and watch the waves interact with the ice. Here’s a couple ‘ice volcanoes’ eruption at Oval Beach on Sunday, February 16, 2020.”

In the photos, huge white mounds can be seen spurting out water, just as a typical volcano would do with lava.

Ice volcanoes erupting at Lake Michigan this week (Twitter)

They form as water is pushed under the ice sheet and as the pressure builds up the water shoots out through holes in the ice (Twitter)

Writing on Facebook, meteorologist Tom Niziol, explained the physics behind the strange phenomenon.

He explained: “They form as water is pushed under the ice sheet and as the pressure builds up the water shoots out through holes in the ice.

“If its very cold, then that spray freezes up eventually building a cone like the ones we see here.”

While the ice volcanoes may look stunning, Mr Niziol added that they can be very dangerous.

He said: “They can be very dangerous to climb on however because they are hollow and built over that hole in the ice. Don’t ever go venturing out onto them!”