150-Foot-Tall Iceberg Floats Off the Coast of a Tiny Canadian Town

Giant Iceberg Picture

Photo credit: Kaelam Power

In a scene that looks like something out of a movie, a giant iceberg has set sail and made its way down the coast of a tiny town in Canada. On April 19, residents and visitors to Ferryland, Newfoundland witnessed the glacier drifting along its eastern shore. While it’s hard to know for sure, the massive ice mountain is estimated to be 150 feet tall.

For nature enthusiasts and photographers, the relatively close distance to the shore was fortuitous. “It’s the biggest one I [have] ever seen around here,” Ferryland mayor Adrian Kavanagh commented to the Canadian Press. “It’s a huge iceberg and it’s in so close that people can get a good photograph of it.” And that’s exactly what they’ve done; hundreds of folks have visited Ferryland for a glimpse at the surreal sight as it looms just beyond the shore. There’s still time to catch a look of it, too. Kavanagh said that the iceberg looks like it’s “grounded and could stick around for a while.”

Although this particular iceberg is making headlines, it's not completely new to Ferryland. The locale is part of “iceberg alley,” which is the nickname given to the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador—earned thanks to the migration of glaciers that drift by once the weather warms. Already, this year has nearly broken a record with 616 icebergs documented. In contrast, there were a total of 687 by the end of September 2016.

In the small Canadian town of Ferryland, a giant iceberg has drifted along its shore.

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Giant Iceberg

Photo credit: Paddy Wadden

Its close proximity to land has been a treat for photographers.

Giant Iceberg Picture

Photo credit: Robin Ryan

Giant Iceberg in Ferryland

Photo credit: Liam Kavanagh

Giant Iceberg in Ferryland

Photo credit: Joyce Curlew

There's still time to catch the iceberg—Ferryland mayor Adrian Kavanagh says it looks like it's “grounded” for a while.

Moving Glacier

Photo credit: Greg Noel

Giant Iceberg in Ferryland

Photo credit: Reane Ashley Ashford

h/t: [Laughing Squid, IFL Science]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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