Ice Caves in Poland

Abstract All 43 caves with perennial ice cover confirmed in the last years of the 20th century in Poland were located in the Tatra Mountains, which are part of the only mountain chain in Poland characterized by high-mountain morphology and climate. They were glaciated during the Pleistocene Epoch; however, they lack modern glaciers. The ice caves there exceed an altitude of 1300 m. They contain predominantly two types of ice: congelation ice and recrystallized snow; hoarfrost rarely occurs. Congelation ice is noted mainly in caves characterized by a dynamic microclimate, in areas near the lowermost entrances of such caves. Ice Cave in Ciemniak is the best known ice cave in Poland. It hosts the largest known perennial cave ice mass in the Tatra Mountains. In all the caves, a marked trend of degradation of ice has been observed.