nature animals · Ages 6-8

The Iceberg That Was Bigger Underwater

Most of an iceberg floats below the surface because ice is lighter than seawater but still has great hidden volume.

The whole story

1. At sunrise, Mira leaned over the rail of a small research boat in the cold northern ocean. A white iceberg stood ahead, bright as a snowy hill. She opened her notebook.

2. Mira sketched the part she could see. The iceberg rose above the water in one shining peak. She wanted to know how big it really was.

3. She lowered a red measuring line beside the ice. The line slipped into clear blue water, but it did not reach the iceberg's bottom. The ocean was hiding something.

4. By noon, the sea was calm enough to show a pale blue shadow underneath. It stretched wider than the white peak. Mira crouched at the rail and held her pencil still.

5. The boat's glass-bottom viewing port gave her a better look. Below the surface, the iceberg spread downward like an upside-down mountain. Mira quickly sketched its hidden sides.

6. Mira placed her two sketches side by side. The little peak looked like a tooth. The underwater part looked like a giant frozen hill.

7. Ice is lighter than seawater, so it floats. But ice is still a great big block, with plenty of hidden volume. Most of it stays below the surface.

8. Mira finished her drawing and held it close. Most of an iceberg floats below the surface because ice is lighter than seawater but still has great hidden volume.

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