An ice disk was spotted forming in the Mattawamkeag River on Friday afternoon.
The disk that formed in the bend of the Mattawamkeag River in Haynesville appeared to be about 50 feet wide, according to Paul Dorward. However, the ice disk reported on Friday didn’t quite reach the width of a disk that formed in the Presumpscot River in Westbrook in 2019.
Ice disks “occur at bends in the river where the accelerating water creates a force called ‘rotational shear,’ which breaks off a chunk of ice and twists it around,” the Daily Mail once reported, when one of the circles was seen in Great Britain for what was believed to be the first time in 2009. “As the disc rotates, it grinds against surrounding ice, smoothing into a perfect circle.”
They are often a source of entertainment for Mainers in the winter, and wildlife can often be seen using the disks as a type of carousel.
