A yakhchāl is an ancient type of ice house, which also made ice. They are primarily found in the Dasht-e Lut and Dasht-e-Kavir deserts, whose climates range from cold (BWk) to hot (BWh) desert regions.
Yakhchāl of Moayedi, Iran
Yakhchāl of Abarkuh, Iran
Workers clearing ice from ice pit at a Yakhchāl
Interior of yakhchal in Meybod, Iran showing conical chimney and ice house interior
Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 °C, 32 °F, or 273.15 K. As a naturally occurring crystalline inorganic solid with an ordered structure, ice is considered to be a mineral. Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaque bluish-white color.
An ice block, photographed at the Duluth Canal Park in Minnesota
This iceberg can stay afloat in spite of its size because it is less dense than water
So-called feather ice on the plateau near Alta, Norway. The crystals form at temperatures below −30 °C (−22 °F) and contain a lot of trapped air, making them light enough to be supported by the thin branch
Frozen waterfall in southeast New York