Iceberg

Iceberg, a mass of ice detached from a glacier where it enters the sea. Icebergs vary greatly in shape and size, lofty peaked forms, sometimes 200 or 300feet above the water, being the more common.

Ill the Antarctic Ocean huge and regular tabular bergs occur, sometimes five miles in length, and presenting a stratified appearance, the ice becoming denser and darker blue downwards. Only about an eighth part of an iceberg is above water, so that in shallow water they may run aground, ploughing up the sea-bottom. They are generally strewn over with stones of all sizes up to that of a house: cascades of water pour from their melting summits; and they transport Arctic bears and foxes occasionally, besides affording a retreat to seals. In the North Atlantic the bergs are carried by ocean currents to the shores of Newfoundland, or farther south; and, as they often, by cooling the surrounding air, shroud themselves in mist, they form a serious danger to navigation. The melting of the submerged portion frequently causes icebergs to capsize.