Icebergs to warm up Canadian tourism
29 April 2008The tourism industry on the east coast of Canada is set for a boost over the coming weeks as iceberg-spotting season gets underway.
Every year, sightseers gather on the Newfoundland and Labrador shoreline to spot icebergs that have broken away from the Greenland icecap to the north-east of Canada.
The most popular area, known as iceberg alley, is between the northern tip of Labrador and the eastern shores of the Avalon peninsula, where sea currents carry mountains of ice close enough to land to be seen from the shoreline.
Icebergs that are tens of thousands of years old are buffeted by wind and tide before breaking up and melting in the warmer waters of the Gulf stream south of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The International Ice Patrol has reported more than 500 icebergs making their way south from Greenland towards Canada, compared to just 50 at the same time last year, meaning that this year could provide a productive season for iceberg-spotters.
Newfoundland and Labrador will boast another impressive natural sight at the end of June when the world's largest population of humpback whales arrives in the waters off eastern Canada.
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