Skip to content

Spaltfrost

frost action (crack frost)

noun VA-khol-der-hyne Rare
Animals & Nature Weather

Also means

freeze-thaw weathering

Usage Note

Spaltfrost describes the physical weathering process where water freezes in rock cracks and expands, splitting the rock. It is a fundamental mechanism of mechanical weathering in cold climates.

Examples

"Durch Spaltfrost lösen sich im Frühjahr Felsblöcke aus dem Gestein."

Natural Translation

Through frost action, rock blocks detach from the bedrock in spring.

Literal Translation

Through crack-frost detach themselves in-the spring rock-blocks from the rock.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common German words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore German by topic