See Pictures Of This Massive Iceberg Floating Past A Canadian Town

A gigantic iceberg floating by our windows isn’t the first sign of spring for most of us. But the 500 or so residents of Ferryland, Canada are used to seeing these big blocks of ice slowly slide by them. This year, though, one of the icebergs decided to stick around a while. Now, the iceberg has become quite the talk of the town—and beyond.

Iceberg Kicks Off Early Tourist Season

Not only is it unusual to see an iceberg floating so close to land, it’s unusual to see one of its size. According to the Canadian Ice Service, as reported by CNN, it measures between 150-240 feet tall and between 400-670 feet long.

Even tradition-weary residents find this sight surprising. And many people are taking the opportunity to capture what looks like a giant cruise ship made of ice in pictures.

Word quickly spread and now tourists are rushing to the Newfoundland town to see the towering ice chunk. Local news website VOCM reports traffic has been bumper to bumper due to visitors clamoring to see the iceberg.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTHc_iNlXsm/?tagged=iceberg

Town sits along ‘Iceberg Alley’

Ferryland has a front row seat on “Iceberg Alley,” a region of the North Atlantic Ocean where icebergs routinely break off and move southward along the currents. As the temperatures rise in the spring and summer, massive chunks of ice break free and float by Canadian towns.

This year has already been an active season for iceberg viewing. The International Ice Patrol reports 648 icebergs have been spotted along trans-Atlantic shipping lanes so far. In 2015, the number was 687 icebergs for the entire season.

In the meantime, Ferryland’s mayor hopes this one hangs around as long as possible in order to help jumpstart the tourist season.

“Traffic seems to be flowing pretty good so it might be busy for a while,” Kavanagh says. “We just gotta find a way to keep that iceberg there.”

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