Rolling Pin

Snowflakes come in all shapes and sizes; Certain clouds produce different types of crystals based on temperature, humidity, wind, etc… and some are often found together.

Simple plates and columns usually fall from the same clouds – where you find one you will often find the other. The column crystal you see here is actually two crystals; a “crystal twin”, identified by the groove in the middle. The groove is caused by evaporation / sublimation, because at this exact point the molecular bond between the two crystals is slightly weaker. Thanks to Kenneth Libbrecht for that little tidbit of info, from his book “Field Guide to Snowflakes”.

The column measures roughly 1mm long.