It's a great year for icebergs!

Waterline of Bay Bulls iceberg

The past few years have been exceptional for iceberg watchers. Hundreds of bergs have made their way down the Labrador Current, drifting south along the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. 2016, in particular, has seen an unusually high number of tabular, or flat, icebergs. This isn't actually good news, since it means that increased numbers of icebergs are calving from Greenland's glaciers, but it's brought some impressive viewing for those who are willing to travel for a look at the results. On a mid-June visit to Bay Bulls and the islands of the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve with Gatherall's Puffin and Whale Watch, we were treated to some beautiful views of a small berg grounded along the south side of the bay. Although it was overcast, enough sun broke through the clouds to create a beautiful shade of blue near the berg's waterline.

An impressive pinnacle berg near St. Anthony

Finding that June iceberg while exploring the Avalon Peninsula was serendipity; however, near St. Anthony there's a good chance of seeing bergs in July and sometimes even into August. A trip with Northland Discovery Boat Tours is the perfect -- and safe -- way of getting a closer look. On a late June trip we encountered two bergs, one sharply sculpted and the other tabular. There were several others in the distance, including a huge tabular berg that appeared to be close to a kilometre in length. If you're lucky, they'll even manage to net a bit of broken ice from one of the bergs and provide a taste of ice that's over 10,000 years old; it's compacted snow from long before Earth's industrial age, so it's about as pure as it gets!

Pinnacle berg coming into view

Large tabular berg

There's still plenty of time to view icebergs in 2016 -- for the latest in sightings, visit www.icebergfinder.com

Iceberg Season Drifts Into View

April, May and June are prime iceberg-watching season in Newfoundland and Labrador,since this is the time of year when these northern giants drift south on the Labrador current after spending the winter frozen into the sea ice.  They'll gradually break free as the ice begins to break up, and move with the current to the shores of Labrador and then the island of Newfoundland. Their pace is slow and stately, befitting to the offspring of glaciers, and like most youngsters they move much more quickly than their parents. They move at the speed of the current, getting the occasional boost from favourable breezes if the berg is tall enough to act as a sail. They come in all shapes and sizes, from growlers the size of a cottage to massive,

floating islands of ice like those that calved from Greenland's Petermann Glacier in 2010 and 2012. They heave into view in the distance and inch to the south each day, but changes in wind direction can play tricks: one berg that had grounded on the south side of Bay Bulls (near St. John's) last spring suddenly freed itself drifted out of sight to the north before abruptly changing direction and moving south, ending up in Ferryland by the next morning. Bergs are often at their most spectacular as they begin to break up; the centre of gravity shifts as a result of erosion from sun, wind and water, and suddenly the massive weight of the berg can no longer support itself and a huge section will crack off, or the entire berg will roll and chunks of ice will fly in arcs to the water. It's important to treat these ice giants with respect, but they can certainly provide some wonderful viewing opportunities.