How big is the biggest iceberg ever seen?
Finley, Ben, Hector and Ben, Class 3, St Ippolyts School Icebergs are giant chunks of ice that break off the ends of glaciers and ice shelves before drifting out to sea. Only about a tenth of an iceberg shows above water. The rest is hidden under the sea. This makes them very dangerous to passing ships. What is thought to be the largest iceberg ever seen broke from Antarctica s Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. It was 295 km (183) long and 37 km (23 miles) wide, with a surface area of 11,000 sq km (4,250 sq miles). This is a similar size to countries such as The Gambia and Qatar or The Bahamas. Scientists have been keeping a close watch on the iceberg because, being so big, it will have a long lifetime, maybe as long as 20 years.
