10,000 Years in the Making: Icebergs

Ancient history is etched across every iceberg’s facade. These enormous and amorphous blocks of ice are spawned from glaciers that cover northern lands. Glaciers are formed by centuries (and more) of snow accumulating and compressing. Gravity eventually pulls these glaciers down towards the sea where pieces break off into icebergs. This process is referred to as “calving,” as if the icebergs were wild animals.

Their ice is formed from the purest freshwater, frozen in an era long before industrial pollution. Its whistling, hissing, and crackling come from the carbon dioxide bubbles escaping as the ice melts.

Icebergs vary in shape and size. Some are so large, they’re referred to as ice islands or “behemoths,” while the smallest are called “bergy bits,” which can still be the size of small houses, and “growlers” for the even smaller pieces. Iceberg shapes also bear their own names: tabular (flat-topped), blocky (flat-topped with steep sides), wedged (steep on one side, sloping on the other), domed (smooth with rounded top), pinnacle (with a spiral or pyramid), and dry dock (u-shaped with at least two pinnacles).

The geographic context of Fogo Island is as unique as the island’s cultural fabric. The island is positioned along the pathway of the Labrador Current, which flows south along the eastern coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. This cold-water, oxygen-rich current in the North Atlantic brings with it sea ice and icebergs from the Canadian Arctic and western Greenland.

The abundance of icebergs that drift from the southern tip of Labrador to Newfoundland’s south-eastern coast has earned this corridor a moniker: Iceberg Alley. Travellers following Iceberg Alley in Newfoundland would start in St. Anthony on the Great Northern Peninsula, then continue along the coast to La Scie, stop in Twillingate, and hop on the ferry to Change Islands and Fogo Island. Iceberg Alley stretches on to the southern tip of the Avalon Peninsula, where Cape Spear and Witless Bay make great spots to catch sight of these frozen giants before they drift off further east in the North Atlantic and melt.

While Fogo Island’s seasons are always unpredictable, the best time to see icebergs on Fogo Island is in spring, from late April to June. This time coincides with a season we call Trap Berth, in honour of June 1, the day when fishers would drop their markers for cod trap fishing berths. This short season serves as a transition between our cool springs and sunny summers. In years when icebergs are numerous around our shores, they can often be spotted well into the summer months.

Our Guest Itinerary Advisors can help plan your stay around a potential iceberg sighting. Like many Fogo Islanders, the team checks the Canadian Ice Service’s Daily Iceberg Analysis chart every day to try and predict if and when icebergs will be seen. This chart is also available at Front Desk during your stay.

Fogo Islanders are accustomed to sudden shifts — in climate, environment, in the sea and what it brings each season. When icebergs appear on the horizon, it signals more than a shift in seasons, but everything that comes with it. The fishing season usually begins in late April with crab and shrimp, followed by lobster in May.

Traditionally, iceberg ice has also always been harvested from our waters. Fogo Islanders go out to the rocks on the edge of the Atlantic—or further out to sea in a speedboat—to haul in 50-60-lb boulders. These sheep-sized pieces of iceberg that break away and float to shore are just the right size to harvest in a dip net, the type of gear intended for pulling fish out of a cod trap. This ice is stored in deep freezers in sheds which will also store cod fished in the summer, berries picked in late summer to fall, and moose meat hunted in the fall. Fogo Islanders use iceberg ice in drinks, or to fill the cooler for hunting and fishing trips.

From sampling iceberg ice to getting up close and personal on the open sea, experience it all from a unique vantage point when you stay at Fogo Island Inn.

Embark on an open-boat adventure led by expert navigators who will safely take you to admire icebergs in their natural habitat. Catch your own iceberg ice with a net and bring it back to the Inn, where it will be broken into pieces and added to cocktails and mocktails. Hear the ice crackle and pop in your glass and warm up by the fireplace after a cool trip at sea.

Icebergs can also be seen from the shore. Follow our Outdoor Adventure Guides as they lead you on hikes along coastal trails, pointing out icebergs near and far. If you’re lucky, icebergs often drift past the Inn, easily spotted from our 29 rooms and suites, or from the rooftop deck where you can take in the view from one of our hot tubs.