East coast Icebergs

[Huz-Z]

So July 1 is the big Canada Day holiday up here in the Great White North. Having the day off, and as it was a beautiful sunny and warm day, it was a great opportunity to get some iceberg pics that I had promised to Vanne a while back. I expect that these majestic things would not last long in his neck of the woods!

So, off I went to Signal Hill which overlooks the entrance to the harbour here in St. John's. There was quite a crowd of tourists there that day, enjoying the fine summer weather and the icebergs below.

Here is my car parked at the hill, with Freshwater Bay and some bergs, behind:



Another shot of the beastie:



This berg is visible just over the hill by where my car is parked. In the distance, you can see the lighthouse at Cape Spear, North America's most easterly point:



A little to the right of that, there was a second large berg with a large sail like feature:



In this next snap, you can see the old WWII gun emplacement that protected the harbour and the Allied convoys in the harbour from marauding u-boats many years ago:





And another shot of the bay and some more distant bergs:

[Phishman]

How cold is that water?

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by Phishman

How cold is that water?

Very cold. Probably around 12 C or 50 F at best at the peak of summer and we are not there yet. The water can be -1 C in winter. I would not expect to last more than ten minutes in that at any time of year owing to hypothermia.

[inTgr8r]

great shots!!

isn't it something like 85 -90% of the mass is under water?

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

great shots!!

isn't it something like 85 -90% of the mass is under water?

Thanks!

Yes, I think only 1/7 of the total ice mass and volume appears above the surface. So as big as they seem, there is a lot more below.

[Vanne]

wow mate, they are AWESOME shots *cue Lego movie "Everything is awesome" song.* and yeah that water looks freezing you must get a lot of seals going in/out/on the rocks there? nice shot of the zed mate, looks like a great spot for a coffee on a beaut morning like that.

must be great being able to just take the day off, (own boss? looks and sounds like a great place to live.

ever seen anything cool stuck in those bergs as they float past? Uboats? vikings? lost alien ships?

Thanks for the pics mate, they are very cool pun intended.

[jdoublehcubed]

that is so cool

[Dalecan]

Place looks beautiful.

[Huz-Z]

Hey guys, these things are spectacular but they can be dangerous, as demonstrated in this video shot by a couple of locals recently: