Let’s Celebrate the Massive Iceberg Floating off the Coast of Newfoundland Right Now

Newfoundland gets a lot of icebergs. When arctic glaciers melt in the spring, packs of ice break away and drift down the Canadian shoreline, settling briefly in the waters of the North Atlantic, just off the coast of Newfoundland (which, if you haven’t looked at a map lately, is pretty freaking far north). The province is kind of famous for them — the Titanic sunk not all that far from the Newfoundland coast right around this time of year, which happens to be peak iceberg season.

For most Newfoundlanders, icebergs are a common sight. Nothing to write home about. But what about a really, really, really big iceberg?

This week, a truly massive one landed off the coast of Ferryland, a fishing village of about 400 people roughly an hour’s drive south of St. John’s. The highest point of the iceberg is said to be about 46 metres above the water — that’s about the same height as the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It’s so big, there are pictures of a helicopter (tiny in comparison) landing safely on one side of it.

The iceberg has momentarily overwhelmed the town, as tourists are coming in droves to take pictures. Which makes sense. But because it’s so close to land, authorities think it’s stuck — meaning it’ll likely be around at least until June.

We could end this story with some kind of warning about climate change and the tragic beauty of irregular weather and ocean patterns. No doubt something like this is somehow tainted. Instead we’ll just stick with our initial reaction: goddamn this country is cool sometimes.

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Canada,Iceberg Ahead,Newfoundland