An ice bridge is a frozen natural structure formed over seas, bays, rivers or lake surfaces. They facilitate migration of animals or people over a water body that was previously uncrossable by terrestrial animals, including humans. The most significant ice bridges are formed by glaciation, spanning distances of many miles over sometimes relatively deep water bodies.
An example of such a major ice bridge was that connecting the island of Öland with mainland Sweden approximately 9000 BC. This bridge reached its maximum utility when the glacier was in retreat forming a low lying frozen bridge. The Öland ice bridge allowed the first human migration to the island of Öland, which is most readily documented by archaeological studies of the Alby People.
In Jules Verne's 1873 novel The Fur Country, a group of fur trappers establishes a fort on what they think is stable ground, only to find later on that is merely an iceberg temporarily attached by an ice bridge to the mainland.
Famous quotes containing the words ice and/or bridge:
““A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus
And his love Thisbe, very tragical mirth”—
Merry and tragical? Tedious and brief?
That is hot ice and wondrous strange snow!”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“A circle swoop, and a quick parabola under the bridge arches
Where light pushes through;
A sudden turning upon itself of a thing in the air.
A dip to the water.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)