мерзлота́

rare #17829

nouninanimateuncountablefake feminine

1.
frozen ground, frozen state of the soil, ground frostgeology
И́з-за мерзлоты́ копа́ть бы́ло невозмо́жно.
Because of the frozen ground it was impossible to dig.
Refers to soil that is frozen through.
2.
permafrostgeography
Дома здесь стоят на ве́чной мерзлоте́.
The houses here stand on permafrost.
Usually in the phrase вечная мерзлота.

Examples

Одна пя́тая земно́й пове́рхности покрыта ве́чной мерзлото́й.
One fifth of the earth's surface is covered by permafrost.
Ве́чная мерзлота́ та́ет.
The permafrost is thawing.
В Сибири много районов с вечной мерзлотой.
There are many areas of permafrost in Siberia.

⚠️ Stress change.