"The shapes of snowflakes are by no means to be deduced from the operation of soul in the same way as with plants."
Kepler, 1611 


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.