How thick does lake ice need to be to support Godzilla? Vermont State Parks knows

Vermont State Parks want to keep you and your "Generic Lizard Monster" safe when it comes to ice thickness.

The state parks shared their Minimum Ice Thickness Guide in a tongue and cheek Instagram post. The infogram first shows that people should stay off of frozen lakes and ponds with less than 2 inches of surface ice. The chart then shows some realistic weights, but the chart then deviates from the norm.

4 inches are safe for ice fishing.

5 inches for snowmachines.

8-12 inches for cars and small trucks.

12-15 inches for pickup trucks.

36-40 inches for semi trucks.

Without missing a beat the list continues:

60 inches for an All Terrain Armored Transport, Star Wars fans will know this as an AT-AT vehicle.

And at 100 plus inches it is safe for Godzil...no, a "Generic Lizard Monster" to cross.

Which begs the question, would Godzilla and Champ be friends and skate across the ice together in Lake Champlain? And, how much do an AT-AT and Godzilla weigh anyway? A quick search, and the internet doesn't disappoint.

AT-ATs weigh 4,400 tons according to kaiju.wikidot.com.

Godzilla comes in at 164,000 tons according to CNET.



Those who want to calculate their own Vermonster's weight to see how an ice battle would play out, there is a simple formula:

P=Ah²

"The strength of a cold, black ice sheet increases with the square of the thickness: 2" ice will support four times more load than 1" ice, all other factors being equal," says lake ice.org. The site says the equation is also called "Gold's Formula" and that P is the load, h is the thickness of the ice sheet and A is a "constant which has units like pounds per square inch (psi), tons/square inch, kg/cm2 or pascals (newtons/ square meter)."