Pinnacles are icebergs with, as their name suggests, a pinnacle or peak shape, often referred to as a pyramid. The icebergs of Iceberg Alley come in six distinct shapes.Īs icebergs melt, they take on many different forms, creating magnificent shapes and arches until the last bits fade into the sea. Their various appearances can be categorized into one of six shapes: Blocks are square-shaped icebergs with steep sides and a flat top, while wedges have a flat surface that slopes from one end to the other. After the ship sank in 1912, Canada, the United States, and with 12 other countries formed the International Ice Patrol to warn vessels of any large, frozen obstacles floating around the North Atlantic.

It was in the waters of Iceberg Alley where the ill-fated Titanic collided with an undetected berg. The saying is familiar to anyone who knows the story of one of history's most famous maritime disasters. There is truth to the expression “the tip of the iceberg,” as only a small portion of an iceberg can be seen above water. In 2017, a giant iceberg measuring 150 feet tall went aground near the Newfoundland village of Ferryland, dwarfing all of the homes nearby and making headlines around the world. They range in size from small chunks called bergy bits and growlers to colossal structures that loom over small villages. Between 400 to 800 icebergs move past Iceberg Alley every year.Įvery spring, hundreds of icebergs slowly make their way past Iceberg Alley. The icebergs only travel at an average of 0.4 miles per hour, or up to 10 miles a day, but their speeds depend on many factors such as ocean currents, wind, and waves. They then begin a journey south along Iceberg Alley that lasts months from the time they calve-break off from the glacier-until they fully melt into the sea. As the weather gets warmer, giant swaths of frozen water break off from the ice shelves and glaciers of Greenland. The arrival of springtime means the melting of ancient glaciers in the North Atlantic Ocean. The icebergs break off of glaciers in Greenland and travel south. Here are 11 fascinating facts about the wondrous place. Iceberg Alley refers to the waters of the Atlantic Ocean that run along the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, in the easternmost point of North America. This is exactly what locals and visitors along Iceberg Alley experience each year between late April and early June.

Iceberg season is May – July. You don’t have to take to the water to see them, they can often be spotted from the Newfoundland shore, but if they’re around, getting out among them is an unmissable experience.The air is noticeably cooler as you approach the huge turquoise flanks of the icy giants – the same kind that caused the sinking of the Titanic.Īn estimated 10,000 – 30,000 icebergs migrate south from Greenland every year, about 2,000 of which make it to the warm waters of the Gulf Stream where they eventually melt away after a 2-4 year, 3,200km journey. A melting berg often fractures throwing ice chips and knife-sharp splinters in all directions.It’s an otherworldly experience to stand on a rocky coast and watch a colossal iceberg slowly drift by. A database of ship collisions with icebergs concentrates on collisions in this North Atlantic area, and lists over 560 incidents from 1810 to the present. Iceberg Alley is the area from Baffin Bay (where icebergs enter the water from the massive glaciers on the southwest coast of Greenland) down to the east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador where the bergs enter the shipping lanes.Ī typical “small” iceberg looms 5-15 meters above water level and weighs about 100,000 tons. The sea here is generally littered with “bergy bits” – floating chunks of ice that weigh around 10,000 tons – and “growlers” – smaller pieces the size of a grand piano weighing about 1,000 tons.

Iceberg alley canada map