Frost Cracking in the Colorado Front Range

Abstract

Frost cracks above timberline in the Colorado Front Range occur in turf-banked lobes and terraces and in other areas where differential frost heaving is locally intense. Crack widths vary seasonally, becoming gradually wider during the fall and winter and narrower during the spring and summer. During 1965–66, seasonal variations in crack width at five experimental sites ranged from 0.7 to 8.6 cm. The locations, orientations, and seasonal behavior of the cracks suggest that they are caused by tensional forces resulting from extreme and localized frost heaving.