Stretching from Arctic to the southeast coast of the island of Newfoundland, Iceberg Alley is the perfect spot for iceberg viewing – even from your kitchen window, while cooking the local staple 'Jiggs dinner'.
A 150 ft. Iceberg passing through Iceberg Alley near Twillingate, Newfoundland, Canada. Photo: Doreen DalleyIf you live in Canada's Iceberg Alley, you will never be short of icebergs to view. And in the spring, when the sea ice around them melts, they'll look even more spectacular.
The icebergs come from even further up north, mostly from Greenland, where chunks of glaciers tend to break off during the spring and summer.
A smaller percentage of these behemoths come from the Canadian shoreline, with currents transporting them from Baffin Bay through the David Strait into the Labrador Sea, to finally arrive at the eastern and western shores of Newfoundland.
Waking up on icebergs. Image credit: Robert CiavarroThese gigantic chunks of ice are approximately 10,000 years old, and an estimated 400-800 of them flow through Iceberg Alley every year.
These icebergs look huge, but what you see is only the "tip of the iceberg". Only about 10 percent of the iceberg is above water!
Enormous iceberg near Fort Amherst in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Photo: Zach BonnellAccording to Atlas Obscura, there are six types of icebergs and Iceberg Alley has all six of them. Tabular icebergs are flat slabs of ice that are much greater in width than height.
Icebergs can be unpredictable, so it's difficult to navigate around them safely. When viewing icebergs from the water, it is recommended to keep a a safe distance (D) – equal to the length of the iceberg (L), or twice its height (H), whichever is greater.
The one below, however, was definitely detected by any satellite.
The iconic view was even turned into a stamp:
This Canada Post stamp features the iconic Iceberg Alley scene shot by photographer Michael Winsor. CANADA POST HANDOUTSo despite the fact that this giant melted a long time ago, it keeps circling the globe – on postcards. Iceberg Alley is indeed amazing.