Why hasn't the wall melted to non existence

[gatlandlb]

The wall is situated quite far north but, all evidence from the books suggests that is resides in an area witch gets warm enough for farming. Jojen is quoted saying that the land in the gift is good farm land. In addition the windings north of the wall practice some crude form of farming or gathering and raise animals and store food for the winter. Craster's cellars.

So it gets well above 0 degrees C or 32 F, and we know they have long summers which mean long periods of melt no mater how cold it gets in the winter. In. Addition the wall is often said to "weep". And with know way to gain more ice during the winter (other than perhaps snow that falls on top or is blown up against the side) why hasn't the wall slowly over the thousands of years melted away.

Any thoughts on how it's is still around.

[Leif]

Magic.

[Free Northman]

The wall is situated quite far north but, all evidence from the books suggests that is resides in an area witch gets warm enough for farming. Jojen is quoted saying that the land in the gift is good farm land. In addition the windings north of the wall practice some crude form of farming or gathering and raise animals and store food for the winter. Craster's cellars.

So it gets well above 0 degrees C or 32 F, and we know they have long summers which mean long periods of melt no mater how cold it gets in the winter. In. Addition the wall is often said to "weep". And with know way to gain more ice during the winter (other than perhaps snow that falls on top or is blown up against the side) why hasn't the wall slowly over the thousands of years melted away.

Any thoughts on how it's is still around.

This is an issue I've raised often in the past, but for a different reason. The existence of the Wall is often used as justification for assigning a sub arctic climate to the North. But the truth - as evidenced by the agricultural activity in the area - is that the climate at the Wall is nowhere near cold enough to permanantly maintain an ice structure of that size.

The answer is simple. The North is not as cold as people think and the Wall is maintained by magic.

[gatlandlb]

I agree that the north is no where near as cold as people think it is, and indeed the tv sometimes makes it appear.

On another note pretty crack pot but what is the wall is all that remains of a glacier (protected by magic) and the rest receded back to the lands of always winter. Would explain who's humans created such s massive structure.

700 feet tall is enormous.

[Tywin Smokin a Blunt]

They refer over and over to the fact that the wall has magic spells woven into its construction, and imply that the wall almost has a consciousness of its own. However, even from a scientific perspective, its not unreasonable that such a giant block of ice would be resistant to melting even if the north is warmer than many people assume. First the melting or boiling point of water has more to do with air pressure than anything else. This is why you have mountains with permanent snow caps, even in areas that get relatively warm. The ancient Romans and Hindus used this principal to create ice thousands of years ago via evaporation. Also enormous blocks of Ice melt very slowly, look at glaciers in Alaska, it gets warm enough there to at least support some farming, yet they have glaciers that have been there for thousands of years. I don't think its unreasonable that a 700 foot tall wall of Ice that is refreshed from time to time with the light summer snows the North is described as having could survive, magic on no.

[Free Northman]

They refer over and over to the fact that the wall has magic spells woven into its construction, and imply that the wall almost has a consciousness of its own. However, even from a scientific perspective, its not unreasonable that such a giant block of ice would be resistant to melting even if the north is warmer than many people assume. First the melting or boiling point of water has more to do with air pressure than anything else. This is why you have mountains with permanent snow caps, even in areas that get relatively warm. The ancient Romans and Hindus used this principal to create ice thousands of years ago via evaporation. Also enormous blocks of Ice melt very slowly, look at glaciers in Alaska, it gets warm enough there to at least support some farming, yet they have glaciers that have been there for thousands of years. I don't think its unreasonable that a 700 foot tall wall of Ice that is refreshed from time to time with the light summer snows the North is described as having could survive, magic on no.

The Wall goes down to sea level at Eastwatch by the Sea, meaning the air pressure is nowhere near the level that protects ice caps on mountains peaks or other highland areas.

[Tywin Smokin a Blunt]

The Wall goes down to sea level at Eastwatch by the Sea, meaning the air pressure is nowhere near the level that protects ice caps on mountains peaks or other highland areas.

No, but the turbulent wind of the Narrow Sea would provide plenty of evaporation.