fast ice

noun

ice that is frozen to, grounded on, or attached to the bottom of an area covered by shallow water.

Origin of fast ice

First recorded in 1930–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Ridged ice, as the phenomenon is called, is much more dangerous to traverse than what is known as fast ice—flat slabs attached to land that make for easier ice-breaking.
Why a Warming Arctic Has the U.S. Coast Guard Worried About the Rest of the Country | Aryn Baker | September 13, 2021 | Time
The ‘fast ice’ was dimly in sight when we started, for we had drifted while at breakfast towards it, as well as towards the berg.
Cast Away in the Cold | Isaac I. Hayes
When steam is raised I have hopes of getting back to the fast ice near the Glacier Tongue.
South! | Sir Ernest Shackleton
But after many attempts we regained the edge of the fast ice this morning, and steamed merrily along it towards Bushnan Island.
In the Arctic Seas | Francis Leopold McClintock
If we can return we should be able now to moor to the fast ice.
South! | Sir Ernest Shackleton

Our descent to the coast followed the margin of the fast ice.
With the World's Great Travellers, Volume 1 | Various

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