Frost weathering is the collective name for those forms of physical weathering that are caused by the formation of ice within rock outcrops. It was long believed that the most important of these is frost wedging, which results from the expansion of pore water when it freezes. Frost wedging happens when water filling a crack freezes and expands. The expanding ice imparts a great amount of pressure against the rock and wedges open the crack. Physical weathering is the most common type of weathering in dry and cold climates.

The action of ice is a factor which results in the weathering of rocks. This process is called Frost action. It happens in regions where the temperature drops below the freezing point of water. The water that is accumulated between the cracks gets frozen. Frost wedging is a form of physical weathering that breaks down rocks through the freezing and thawing process. Frost weathering is a collective term for several mechanical weathering processes induced by stresses created by the freezing of water into ice. The term serves as an umbrella term for a variety of processes such as frost shattering, frost wedging and cry fracturing. That movement can cause rocks to crack and break apart. That process occurs when the water inside of rocks freezes and expands. That expansion cracks the rocks from the inside and eventually breaks them apart.One of the most common forms of weathering in areas that have frequent freeze/thaw cycles is ice wedging. This type of mechanical weathering breaks apart rocks and other materials using the expansion of freezing water. Water seeps into small cracks in a rock where it freezes, expands and causes the crack to widen. The important agents of mechanical weathering are: The decrease in pressure that results from removal of overlying rock. Freezing and thawing of water in cracks in the rock. Spontaneous temperature changes, such as too much or too little heat or cold, are the main causes of physical weathering. Physical weathering is the most common type of weathering in dry and cold climates. In dry and cold regions, physical weathering is the dominant type of weathering. The desert surface is dominated by mechanical weathering processes. Rock fragments tend to be angular, rather than rounded.