Icebergs protrude more than 5 m above sea-level and may be afloat or aground. Their shape varies greatly.

There are many types of icebergs. They can be described as tabular, dome-shaped, sloping, pinnacled, dry-docked, blocky, weathered or glacier bergs, in addition to having a size qualifier.

Besides a variety of shapes and sizes, icebergs sometimes appear with unusual colouring.

Glacier berg

An irregularly shaped iceberg.

Tabular berg

A flat-topped iceberg. Most tabular bergs form by calving from an ice shelf and show horizontal banding.

Domed iceberg

An iceberg which is smooth and rounded on top.

Sloping iceberg

An iceberg which is rather flat on top and with steep vertical sides on one end, sloping to lesser sides on the other end.

Pinnacled iceberg

An iceberg with a central spire or pyramid, with one or more spires.

Dry-docked iceberg

An iceberg which is eroded such that a U-shaped slot is formed near or at water level, with twin columns or pinnacles. This is also referred to as a twinned iceberg.

Blocky iceberg

A flat-topped iceberg with steep vertical sides.

Weathered iceberg

An iceberg that shows marked signs of deterioration from the effects of atmosphere and ocean.

Ice island

A large piece of floating ice protruding about 5 m above sea-level, which has broken away from an Arctic ice shelf, having a thickness of 30 m to 50 m and an area of from a few thousand square metres to 500 km² or more, and usually characterised by a regularly undulating surface which gives it a ribbed appearance from the air.