After a day on the slopes of Whiteface Mountain, to get back to your car, you must cross over a small branch off the Ausable river that is around 15 meters across. Due to the cold weather the area had the waterway that was almost completely covered in ice and in some areas, the ice was able to connect and make a completely solid surface. Even though the flow of the water cannot be seen in the picture, it was a somewhat significant speed, which really shows how cold it was because moving water is harder to freeze than water that is standing still. The water is not completely frozen though as the ice makes a bridge of sorts over the top, allowing the water underneath to keep flowing. Even though the water in the middle is not frozen, it is most likely at or near water’s densest states at 4°C, possibly contributing to why it is not frozen yet. Going back to the bridge, the water flowing underneath still allows life to exist, like small fish because a completely frozen river would mean almost certain death to anything living in the water. The open areas of the river also allow predatory animals if there were any around to fish or obtain resources that would have been blocked off if the entire surface was frozen.