Glacial Heart

Tasman Lake is a terminal lake formed at the receding edge of the Tasman Glacier in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park on the South Island in New Zealand. In early December 2007, while on vacation, I took a boat tour of the lake in order to view the glacier and to see icebergs up close. Only 10% of the volume of these icebergs is visible above the water line. Some of the icebergs were rather large. On one of the smaller icebergs, we were able to dock the boat, climb onto it, and explore. These icebergs contain both rock and rock flour (pulverized rock material). I was looking around and spotted this heart rock encased in its own impression. The dark rock had absorbed more sunlight than the surrounding ice causing the ice around the rock to melt faster. This heart rock was formed through the forces of frozen water rather than flowing water and, as a result, is more angular in shape. I was tempted to call it Iceberg Heart, but Glacial Heart sounds more poetic.