System and method for creating linked clones of storage objects stored in a storage uses a target storage structure that includes a linked clone being created from a selected snapshot of a storage object and surface snapshots. The linked clone is created in the target storage structure with references to the selected snapshot of the storage object in a source storage structure without completely copying the selected snapshot to the target storage structure. The surface snapshots, which correspond to other snapshots of the storage object in the source storage structure, are created in the target storage structure with references to the other snapshots without completely copying the other snapshots to the target storage structure to produce the linked clone with similar snapshots as the storage object at a point in time when the selected snapshot was captured.