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  • Even an iceberg itself can grow icesicles. Photo by Samuel Letecheur

How a snowflake becomes an iceberg

The eternal snow. Year after year it descends on Greenland. Each snowflake is formed by water vapour freezing around a tiny speck of dust.

No two snowflakes are alike or follow the same path. They fall one by one and form a seamless blanket of whiteness that covers everything.

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Package Tours

Greenland Tours: Hounds of Snow

Greenland Tours

Hounds of snow

8 day dogsledding trip in East Greenland

FROM €2,835
Greenland Tours: Northern Lights & Icebergs

Greenland Tours

Northern Lights & Icebergs

4 days in Ilulissat incl. dog sledding & Northern Lights tour

FROM €830
Disko Line: Icefjord Cruise

Disko Line

Icefjord Cruise

Get closer to the impressive Greenlandic nature with Icefjord Cruise.

FROM €93
Greenland by Topas – Summer tour: Disko Island, Icebergs and Eqi Glacier

Greenland by Topas

Summer tour: Disko Island, Icebergs and Eqi Glacier

Experience Disko Island’s glaciers, Disko Bay’s huge icebergs and legendary whales, then further north, Eqi Glacier's deafening calving events.

FROM €3,617
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As time passes, the blanket of snow gets thicker. The snow becomes more compact, denser and heavier. The snow crystals become a solid mass of ice, aided by the cycle of frost and thaw. This is how Greenland’s Ice Sheet was formed 2-3 million years ago – and how it continues to grow and recede today. At its highest point, the ice is more than 3 kilometres thick. The oldest ice can be as many as 100,000 years old.

The ice moves

Gravity and pressure from the enormous weight of ice cause the massive glacier to move. The smaller glaciers, like blue-white tongues of ice, slowly gravitate down all slopes. They carry stones with them, crevices and lakes are formed, whilst meltwater moves through, over and under the ice.

The journey ends in the Greenlandic fjords, where the glaciers calve and a new journey then begins. An enormous rumble and a great splash accompany the birth of an iceberg as fragments of ice break off the glacier. Such icebergs can be as high as 15-story buildings – with just 1/9 or so visible above the surface of the water.

Only in the Arctic or Antarctic

Icebergs are a natural phenomenon that can only be experienced in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Travel to the Ice Sheet and the icebergs in Greenland, which are one of the Big Arctic Five experiences. Let yourself be enthralled by the magnificence of the icebergs, the magical interplay of colours and the sculptural shapes. And by their incredible history. Remember: Once they were once just tiny snowflakes.

Visit the ice

Need some ideas for how to experience ice in Greenland? Perhaps kayaking around icebergs in South Greenland is something for you, or even ice diving in East Greenland for the very adventurous. Otherwise, the standby of taking a boat tour at the mouth of Ilulissat Icefjord is a timeless favourite.

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By Sarah Woodall

Sarah is a former Visit Greenland employee who now continues the adventure as Destination Manager in South Greenland.

https://2kalaallitnunaatigo.wordpress.com/

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Icecampers. Photo by Aningaaq Rosing Carlsen - Visit Greenland

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Unlock East Greenland's Travel Tips! Where time slows, nature whispers, and adventure awaits. Anna, a local resident, shares her 9 tips.

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Aurora Cabins 3. Photo by Hotel Arctic

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Smiling man on kayak. Photo - Jorgo Kokkinidis, Visit Greenland

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Greenland Drone Flying Rules: Know the regulations for private and commercial flights based on drone size. Fly responsibly.

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