Ice Mountain is a forested ridge near North River Mills in West Virginia, protected within a 149-acre preserve and designated a National Natural Landmark in 2012. Its remarkable algific talus slope stores winter cold in deep broken rock and releases chilled air through many vents in warmer months, creating a natural refrigeration system. That cold-air pocket supports rare boreal plants far south of their usual range, including bunchberry, twinflower, and the Appalachian wood fern. The mountain also figures in local memory as a place for food storage, Civil War lookout use, and ice gathering, and today conservation work focuses on safeguarding its fragile habitat.