Anne Larcom of Great Falls Montana has been keeping a watchful eye for spring on the Missouri River over the past weeks. She reported on February 19th that the ice had melted. "My place to check for ice out was in Great Falls between two bridges. The Missouri River thawed between Feb. 16 and Feb. 19" However, the following week she wrote back with a correction: "The Missouri River was completely iced over today! The temperature was 60 degrees a couple days ago, but now its -5 F and it's iced back over again." Let's hope the ice won't return in New Jersey and Massachusetts where students reported it has melted. You'll see their comments below.
According to Mrs Malcolm's Class who live in Ontario near the St. Lawrence River, "When the ice leaves the customs dock in our town, everyone knows it's spring. The river is mostly frozen today, (2/23). Since the past few weeks alot of the ice has melted. It's still hard in some places but some of the water is open but not a lot."vivwhite@limestone.kosone.com
REMINDER: Internet Ice-Out Contest
When do you think the ice will melt from Walden Pond this spring? There's still time to participate in Journey North's 2nd Annual Internet Ice-Out Contest for Walden Pond. Place your guess by March 20th by sending e-mail to us at: jnorth@learner.org
Here's the latest update from Denise Morrissey of Walden Pond State Reservation in Concord, Massachusetts:
March 6, 1996
"Last week the temperatures here at Walden Pond were in the 50's. We even saw a guy walk down to the pond in shorts! This week it is much more unsettled. Temperatures are in the 20's and 30's and we have had more snow. On Saturday, we had another 5 inches of snow and today , 2 inches so far. The prediction is for more snow on Friday.
When the weather was warmer, we saw starlings congregating and heard lots of crows. Some friends went down to the pond to see if they could find any spotted salamanders, but did not see any.
At one point last week, during the warmer weather, we thought we saw some open water at the North and South edges of the pond. But now with the colder temperatures back, everything seems to have become frozen again. Ice-fisherman are still on the pond."
Students Answer Challenge Question # 15
"Who was Thoreau and what do you know about him?"
Thanks to students in Alaska and Maine for sharing the results of their research with us! Here's what they found out:
From ALASKA:
Thoreau was a naturalist in New England. He lived from 1817 to 1862. He built a small cabin on Walden Pond and moved into it on July 4, 1845. He left Walden Pond on September 6, 1847. During that period, he wrote "A Week on the Concord and the Merrimack Rivers", published in 1849. He wrote a journal that was made into book called,"Walden ; or, Life in the Woods" (1854) He was forced to spend a night in prison for failure to pay the poll taxes. He vowed not to support a government that permitted slavery. He helped free slaves through the Underground Railroad. W. Mike Sterling sterling@corcomsv.corcom.com
From MAINE:
Dear JN Friends,
Thoreau was a naturalist in the 1800's who left his house in town
with just a hatchet to live in the woods. He built his house on July
4th, Independence Day. In his house he had three chairs: one for
solitude, two for friendship, and three for society. He lived in his
house for two years, and then went on to live new lives. From,
Christy Rumill, Grade 5, Pemetic School Southwest Harbor, Maine
grade5fh@pemetic.u98.k12.me.us
Ice-out Observations:
02/19/96........Missouri River, Great Falls, MT
02/22/96........The Bogs, Tuckerton, NJ
02/26/96........Missouri River, Great Falls, MT ("Frozen again!")
02/26/96........Straight's Pond, Hull/Cohasset line, MA
From: NEW JERSEY
February 22, 1996
Date of Ice-Out for Giffords Mill Branch (The Bogs)--22/2/96 Chris Jones, Mr. G. Brown Pinelands Reg. High School ssurf @raven.cybercomm. net
From: MASSACHUSETTS
February 26, 1996
"Straits Pond was frozen solid on Friday 2/23 and all but the very edge was thawed on Monday, Feb. 26. There were also large swells on the pond, which is across the street from the ocean and somewhat brackish." Molly and Charlie. Velma Begley VBegley@gnn.com South Shore Charter School
How to Report Ice-Out:
When your adopted body of water is 90% free of ice (our definition of "ice-out") please let us know!
Simply fill out a Field Data Form by selecting the blue button below labeled, "Report Field Observations".
Be sure to include the name of your adopted body of water and its location. (So that other students can locate it on a map, please include the name of the nearest town.)
The Next Ice-Out Update Will be Posted on March 22, 1996
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