"So perfectly formed in hexagons, and of which the six sides were so straight, and the six angles so equal, that it is impossible for men to make anything so exact." Descartes, 1635  Types of Snowflake The most common snow crystals by far are the irregular crystals. These are small, usually clumped together, and show little of the symmetry seen in stellar or columnar crystals. The snowflake types above are just a few of the enormous range of types of snowflake. Snowflakes Forming Watch the formation of snowflakes. Time-lapse photography. 'The Snowflake Man' The history of Wilson Bentley, who spent his life photographing beautiful snowflakes. Types of Snowflake If you look closely at falling snow, you can see a great many different crystal shapes.