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Glide Through Iceberg Alley

Published by Kristin Cowles, Editor-in-Chief

Country: Canada

The Experience

As the silent bergs glide through the cold currents off the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland, the soft sighs of ice melting can be lightly heard above laps of the Atlantic Ocean. This stunning side of Canada offers amazing views of beautiful ocean countryside paired with clean crisp glimpses of giant icebergs floating down the coast. Calved from glaciers off the western coast of Greenland, the icebergs float generally for over a year before reaching the northern shores of Newfoundland. Of the 40,000 some odd icebergs produced annually from Greenland, 1%-2% tend to make it down to Ice Berg Alley. Many local companies run boat tours out along the coast to catch a closer experience with the majestic ice mountains. The sheer size of the bergs is a complex nature, many over two and three stories high, hide approximately 87% of their mass below the water. For the daring adventurer these currents are also widely sought as some of the best kayaking spots in the world. The great iceberg migration provides paddlers with the ultimate close encounter with these grand and glorious ice sculptures, and if that wasn't enough to wet your pallet the common whale sightings usually seal the deal.

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Puzzle

When to Go to Icebergs

The best time of year to see icebergs is between the spring and early summer season, April - June. Popular places to experience the icebergs is Bulls Bay, Witless Bay, St. John's/Cape Spear, Bonavista, Twillingate, La Scie, St. Anthony, Point Amour, Battle Harbour and Cartwright.

Odds n' Ends

If you are planning a closer experience, under 5km from a berg, you will get a great view, and nice pictures with a regular camera. The higher vantage points are also a plus. If you are planning something from afar, 10km out or more you might want to bring a set of binoculars and a good zoom lens.

More Experiences Nearby

Whale Watching Around the Maritime Coastline of Canada
Given the lifestyle of Canada's eastern coast, the best way to discover the Maritimes is slowly and relaxed. Instead of rushing through on a whirlwind tour, why not try a camping road trip instead? You'll find countless gorgeous photo-worthy and fun spots to discover, most of which aren't even mentioned in a lot of guidebooks. Book off a week or two, rent a car, and plan your route around the coast of New Brunswick or Quebec, along the banks of the St. Lawrence river. This area in particular is a haven for whale watching, as they pass through during their ...437 miles away.

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Books and DVDs

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island Travel Guide - LonelyPlanet.com
Oodles of itineraries to please road-trippers, foodies, history buffs and Anne maniacs alike, evocative insights from a host of Atlantic Canadians' and a dedicated Newfoundland & Labrador chapter.
Louder Than the Sea
Wayne Bartlett's Louder Than the Sea is an ice-rimed foray into Newfoundland's outports. A harsh, sharp-eyed, occasionally hilarious novel, it shirks much of the mawkish reverence that plagues so much Atlantic fiction in favour of a style packed with luminous detail and the lilt of Newfoundland speech.
Iceberg Alley

Elsewhere on the Web

Iceberg Alley in Newfoundland - NewfoundlandLabrador.com
Bergs born 10,000 years ago on the Greenland icecap dance along the coast and far out to sea, propelled unpredictably by wind and tide, tumbling, twirling, and breaking into fantastic shapes before melting in the warm waters of the gulf stream, southeast of Newfoundland and Labrador.
IcebergFinder.com
Newfoundland and Labrador is the greatest iceberg theatre in the world. From the east coast of Labrador to Newfoundland's southern shore, you are in Iceberg Alley, the only place in the world where you can see two or three story icebergs making their way down the Atlantic Ocean from Greenland.
Dorset Trail Tourism Association -ecz.ca
Newfoundland attracts many tourists each year in hope that they'll catch a glimpse of an iceberg. The Baie Verte peninsula is an ideal spot for iceberg watchers, during spring and early summer this peninsula is one of the most iceberg driven zones in Newfoundland, thus being named, "Iceberg Alley".

Media References

Will Gadd Climbing Icebergs - NationalGeographic.com (magazine)
"I've been called crazy many times, but never more than when my bud Ben and I climbed icebergs ten miles off Labrador's coast.
Canada's Atlantic Side - NYTimes.com (newspaper)
Windswept Signal Hill, which overlooks the mile-long placid oval of the St. John's harbor in Newfoundland, was the perfect place for Guglielmo Marconi to await, in 1901, the first wireless signal from Europe.
Touch and Go in Iceberg Alley - NationalGeaographic.com (magazine)
In the early warmth of spring, mammoth icebergs calve from the glaciers of western Greenland and begin a slow, 1,900-nautical-mile [3,519-meter] drift—first north with the West Greenland Current and then south with the Baffin and Labrador Currents, spending their first few winters locked in sea ice before finally reaching Newfoundland’s shores
A Quirky Salt Air Island - NYTimes.com (newspaper)
IF there is one thing I hate, it is going to bed without dinner. So, driving down the isolated southwestern shore of the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, with the July sun quickly fading, I pushed the gas pedal hard in the hope of finding an open restaurant.
Go With the Flow to 'Iceberg' Alley Canada - LATimes.com (newspaper)
The icebergs that travel to Labrador are time capsules -- sealed thousands of years ago, when snow fell on Greenland. The snow compressed into glacial ice, white from the trapped air bubbles, these from pre-pollution times.

Language Guides

French , Italian , Japanese , Lao , Portugese , Russian , Spanish , Turkish , Vietnamese are some of the languages spoken in Canada. If you know of a freely available phrase book or podcast for one of the missing languages, let us know!

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