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From December to March, a yearly winter festival draws tourists to Mount Zaō in Japan to witness these magnificent "snow monsters".
Image by 菊地鷹/Google Maps.
However, these works of art by nature might be a thing of the past for future generations.
Created by wind, moisture and cold
Also known as "juhyou", these towering humanoid figures are created when snow and ice accumulate on the mountain's evergreen conifer trees.
They are sculpted from seasonal winds that originate in Siberia which collect moisture over the Sea of Japan and freeze on these high-altitude trees.
The volcanic mountain range is found at the border of Yamagata and Miyagi prefectures.
Due to the unique weather conditions surrounding this phenomenon, it is rarely seen outside of Japan.
Image by 渡部秀樹/Google Maps.
Image by rex lee/Google Maps.
Snow monsters on the decline
One expert warns that these snow monsters are set to disappear from Japan by the end of the century if climate change does not slow down.
Fumitaka Yanagisawa, a professor emeritus at Yamagata University’s Research Institute for Ice Monsters and Volcanoes of Zao, gave an interview to Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun.
He said that juhyou are forming in areas with higher altitudes than before. The environments suitable for their formation are also shrinking.
According to The New York Times, the snow monsters have been steadily deteriorating in both extent and duration due to warming temperatures.
The monsters are also losing their allure.
"What you see today, we would not describe as juhyou in the past... they used to be so much more beautiful," a hotel owner told All That’s Interesting.
The average temperature in Japan rose by 1.3°C in the past century.
It is expected to rise another 4.5°C by the end of this century at the current rate if no effective mitigation measures are taken.
Top image via Canva.