On the surface, it almost looks as though someone has installed a hot tub in the middle of a lake - bubbling jets of water breaking the otherwise perfectly calm waters of the Sheyenne River.
But these aren't bubbles, and, far from someone having added a touch of spa luxury to the North Dakota stretch of water, this perfectly spherical disturbance in the water is made of ice.
The incredible spinning circle of ice, which was spotted by George Loegering while out hunting with relatives, is entirely natural albeit extremely rare.
![Bizzarre Spinning Circle of Ice]()
The retired engineer said that when he first saw the floating disc he couldn't believe his eyes.
The 73-year-old said: 'At first I thought, no way! It was surreal. You looked at it and you thought, how did it do that?'
He calculated the disk's diameter to be about 55 feet, took photos and videos of it and then turned to the internet for more information about what he, his brother-in-law and nephew had seen.
'It's not an unknown phenomenon, but it is relatively rare,' said Loegering, who lives in rural Casselton, about 20 miles west of Fargo.
Allen Schlag, a National Weather Service hydrologist in Bismarck, and Greg Gust, a weather service meteorologist in Grand Forks, said a combination of cold, dense air last weekend and an eddy in the river likely caused the disk.
'It's actually quite beautiful,' Schlag said.
![Bizzarre Spinning Circle of Ice]()
Mr Loegering said: 'I'm not sure how long it was there (spinning),' he said.
'It had to be quite a long time.
'If you look at the picture, you can see growth rings on the disk.'
Mr Schlag said he was surprised by the size of the ice circle, which he said would be more likely on a larger river such as the Missouri.
'That might be one of the better examples I've seen,' he said.
'It's a pretty cool one.'
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But these aren't bubbles, and, far from someone having added a touch of spa luxury to the North Dakota stretch of water, this perfectly spherical disturbance in the water is made of ice.
The incredible spinning circle of ice, which was spotted by George Loegering while out hunting with relatives, is entirely natural albeit extremely rare.
The retired engineer said that when he first saw the floating disc he couldn't believe his eyes.
The 73-year-old said: 'At first I thought, no way! It was surreal. You looked at it and you thought, how did it do that?'
He calculated the disk's diameter to be about 55 feet, took photos and videos of it and then turned to the internet for more information about what he, his brother-in-law and nephew had seen.
'It's not an unknown phenomenon, but it is relatively rare,' said Loegering, who lives in rural Casselton, about 20 miles west of Fargo.
Allen Schlag, a National Weather Service hydrologist in Bismarck, and Greg Gust, a weather service meteorologist in Grand Forks, said a combination of cold, dense air last weekend and an eddy in the river likely caused the disk.
'It's actually quite beautiful,' Schlag said.
Mr Loegering said: 'I'm not sure how long it was there (spinning),' he said.
'It had to be quite a long time.
'If you look at the picture, you can see growth rings on the disk.'
Mr Schlag said he was surprised by the size of the ice circle, which he said would be more likely on a larger river such as the Missouri.
'That might be one of the better examples I've seen,' he said.
'It's a pretty cool one.'
WATCH THE VIDEO: