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cirrus cloud
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Wispy cirrus clouds stretch across a bright blue sky above trees and a river at Pinawa Dam Provincial Park in Manitoba, Canada, with sunlight illuminating the scene. Illustration showing ten cloud types at different altitudes above the ground: cirrus, cirrocumulus, and cirrostratus at high elevations; altocumulus and altostratus at mid-levels; nimbostratus, stratocumulus, stratus, cumulus, and the towering cumulonimbus clouds at lower to very high elevations, with a plane for scale.
Learn about the four main types of clouds formed at different altitudes
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Wispy cirrus clouds stretch across a bright blue sky above trees and a river at Pinawa Dam Provincial Park in Manitoba, Canada, with sunlight illuminating the scene.
feathery cirrus clouds over Pinawa Dam Provincial Park The atmospheres of planets in the solar system are composed of various gases, particulates, and liquids. They are also dynamic places that redistribute heat and other forms of energy. On Earth, the atmosphere provides critical ingredients for living things. Here, feathery cirrus clouds drift across the deep blue sky over Pinawa Dam Provincial Park, near Pinawa, Manitoba, Canada.

Cirrus clouds are high-altitude clouds composed of ice crystals, typically found above 5 km (3 miles). They appear thin and wispy. A specific type, "false cirrus," originates from cumulonimbus clouds and is of appreciable thickness.123

Cloud formation, a part of the water cycle, begins when moist air rises, expands, and cools to its dew point. Water vapor then condenses onto tiny particles called condensation nuclei, forming cloud droplets. Clouds are classified by altitude and appearance, with cirrus clouds being the highest.12

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  2. How Do Clouds Form?
  3. cloud

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