Snow

Snow is a white surface covering the top of most things in an area, and "lends a magical air to almost any landscape." Snow will always be white and has a fluffy look to it. Often seen in piles and lumps, it is never chunky but smooth and fragile. The snow will cover the whole surface and will be found on top of other objects. The snow also carries no reflection. No other water body will look like snow since white water has bubbles and snow is completely white [1].

Snow occurs as a form of precipitation and can usually fall in the form of unique flakes or crystals, oftentimes in the winter under the right conditions. The National Snow & Ice Data Center [3] explains the formation of snow as "originating in clouds when temperatures are below the freezing point (0 degrees Celsius, or 32 degrees Fahrenheit), when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses directly into ice without going through the liquid stage. Once an ice crystal has formed, it absorbs and freezes additional water vapor from the surrounding air, growing into a snow crystal or snow pellet, which then falls to Earth."

A certain type of snow, snowpack, is seen as occurring "in mountainous areas that experience a winter season" where "precipitation can fall in the form of snow" and the snow "does not melt for months due to below-freezing temperatures." This snowpack "can consist of multiple layers of snow, each one from a different snowfall, that become compacted under the weight of the subsequent layers that lie on top." The snowpack is located in the upper regions of these mountainous areas and remains on the ground until it "starts to melt in the spring" [2].

References

[1] National Geographic Society. Pictures: Winter Landscapes. Retrieved (2021, July 21), from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/avalanche-winter-general

[2] National Geographic Society. Snowpack. Retrieved (2021, August 12), from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/snowpack/

[3] National Snow & Ice Data Center (NSIDC). (2020, January 10). All About Snow. Retrieved (2021, July 22), from https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/snow