The passenger steamer Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank on the night of 14–15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic. Of the approximate 2,200 people on board, over 1,500 did not survive. After the disaster, there was interest in the iceberg itself to explain the circumstances of the collision and the resulting damage to the supposedly unsinkable ship. As a result of the Titanic disaster, an International Ice Patrol was founded whose mission was to reduce the dangers of ice to shipping.
The most important sources for the iceberg are reports from surviving crew of the Titanic and passengers of the Titanic. There is also historical data on the weather and currents in the North Atlantic that may help to shed light on the disaster. Ships took photographs of icebergs near the spot where Titanic's lifeboats were found. The iceberg is purportedly visible in one of these photographs.
The iceberg has become a metaphor in the cultural reception of the disaster. The iceberg is a counterpart to the luxurious ship, standing for the cold and silent force of nature that cost the lives of so many people. The iceberg became a metaphor in various political and religious contexts, and has appeared in poetry as well as in pop culture.