Friday When molten rock cools and hardens, it is referred to as igneous rock. Granite is a common example of igneous rock. Water can be thought of as a mineral in molten form - and when it hardens due to freezing temperatures, it becomes ice. Ice and snow, like igneous rock, will eventually weather and erode over the course of the winter. Of course, rain, which we've had a lot of this winter, will destroy the snow's structure.
Wind can also move and carve the snow in the same way it blows around grains of sand.
You might notice the wind causing snowdrifts, or creating wave patterns in the snow. The geologic cycle takes millions of years to complete - igneous rock erodes, creating sedimentary rock, which, after heat and pressure is applied, turns into metamorphic rock. This cycle can be observed in the snowpack in your backyard every winter.