Icons of winter are sometimes found in unexpected places. A striking example: a series of oval lagoons in a remote part of Siberia, when viewed from above, form the shape of a tall snowman.
This photograph, taken in the remote village of Billings and nearby Cape Billings on the Chukchi Peninsula, was taken WAS (Operational Land Imager) on board Landsat 8 June 16, 2025. Founded in the 1930s as a port and supply point for the Soviet Union, the village sits on a narrow spit of sand that separates the Arctic Ocean from a series of interconnected coastal coastal lagoons.
Elongated oval lagoons are covered with ice and surrounded by water. sea ice. Although June is one of the warmest months in Billings, ice cover is common even during this period. The average daily minimum temperature in June is just minus 0.6 degrees Celsius (30.9 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the agency. meteorological data.
Although the shape may appear artificial, it is natural and the product of geological processes common in the far north. The ground in this part of Siberia is frozen for most of the year and littered with spear-shaped ice wedges buried beneath the surface. Summer melt causes the overlying soil to settle, leaving shallow depressions that fill with meltwater and form thermokarst lakes. Once created, the constant direction of winds and waves likely leveled and lengthened the lakes, giving them the shapes shown in the image. The thin ridges separating the lakes may represent the edges of various ice veins below the surface.
According to the book, the first mention of people making snowmen dates back to the Middle Ages. Snowman story. Although the most common shape is three spherical segments, other variations dominate in certain areas. In JapanSnowmen usually only have two segments and are rarely given arms. This five-segmented snowman-shaped series of lakes extends approximately 22 kilometers (14 miles) from top to bottom, making it approximately 600 times longer than the real snowwoman, who was listed as a world record holder by Guinness World Records. tallest snowman in 2025.
Snowmen aren't the only winter symbols associated with this remote landscape. For the first expeditions to the Russian Arctic, reindeer were one of the most reliable forms of transport. This includes expeditions of the city of the same name, Commodore Joseph BillingsBritish-born naval officer who joined the Russian Navy and led a research expedition to find Northeast Passage between 1790 and 1794.
Although more than a hundred members of the expedition did not reach Cape Billings, they explored much of Chukotka Peninsulacreating some of the first accurate maps and further confirming that Asia and North America were separated by a strait. During the winter months, when their ships were surrounded by ice, the explorers moved to temporary camps on land and instead explored the region on wooden sleds pulled by reindeer, the source said. historical reports. Winters, in fact, offered better conditions for exploration, as many of the peninsula's rivers and lakes became hard surfaces that were easy to navigate compared to the muddy swamps that open up in the summer.
Local Chukchi Those living on the peninsula at that time usually used reindeer to transport people and goods. A couple of deer can comfortably drag hundreds of pounds several hours a day. In addition to their impressive endurance in cold temperatures, deer primarily feed by digging through snow and grazing on grass. lichenssomething neither sled dogs nor horses can do.
Historical documents indicate that the Billings Expedition enlisted the Chukchi to manage and care for the deer they used, with some sources suggesting that the explorers used dozens of deer at times. Although reindeer were primarily used to transport sleighs, the Chukchi probably also rode them.
It is reported that non-Chukchi members of the expedition experimented with reindeer riding, although their experiments did not always go smoothly. Billings secretary and translator Martin Sauer reported that he used a saddle without stirrups or a bridle and fell “almost 20 times” after about three hours of traveling in his expedition report. Not only that, he added, the saddle “causes terrible pain in my hips at first.”
NASA image taken by Earth Observatory Michala Garrison using Landsat data US Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voyland.
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