148 WAVES OF SAND AND SNOW 



by the sharp edge of a cliff or, in damper snow, 

 an overhanging cornice with a steep and hollowed 

 lee side. As the winter wore on more snow accu- 

 mulated in the shelter of the fence. The bank 

 apparently soon attained its full height, its subse- 



FiG. 12. — Fence and completed Snow Drift. 



quent growth being by extension to leeward. The 

 cliff edge was, however, no longer at or near the 

 summit of the bank, and its height progressively 

 diminished as the bank extended to leeward. In 

 its final form the bank merged with gentle slope 



Fig. 13. — Stages of Growth of Snow Drift formed by a Fence. 



to leeward in the general level of the surrounding 

 snow surface, there being no lee cliff (Figs. 12, 

 13, and 14). This completed drift, though con- 

 taining more snow, was a much less conspicuous 

 object than the cusped bank produced after the 

 first snowfalls. In our own country, where snow 



