Why fundy tides

The geometry of the bay causes tidal resonance , which plays a key role in elevating tides. The bay is just the right width and depth for water to slosh back and forth at a frequency—every 12 or 13 hours—that matches the natural frequency of high tides, which are driven by the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun on Earth. In addition, the position and configuration of continents in the Northern Hemisphere contributes to the high tides.

Since the Bay of Fundy becomes shallower and narrower, incoming tidal flows get forced especially high as water piles up behind mudflats at the mouth of the bay.

They make a roaring sound reminiscent of an oncoming train. These tidal bores often have leading waves as high as 1 meter 3 feet , large enough for rafting and surfing. As for the colors, rivers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick flow through soft red Triassic-era sandstone that easily erodes. The sediment and the regular churning of incoming and outgoing tides and tidal bores keeps the bay and rivers perpetually muddy.

Story by Adam Voiland. Note that the bore time does not match either the high or low tide times listed on the tide chart for that community. The bore time varies depending on where you're perched to view it from the riverbank. One of the best ways to experience this tidal change is to go white water rafting in it Horizontal Tidal Effect This phenomenon occurs in many locations in the upper part of the Bay of Fundy but you need to allow 6 hours to appreciate it.

Basically, it involves going to the same beach at both high and low tide to see the huge distance that the tide travels from high to low. If you are accustomed to the foot tides in the rest of the world, this may not sound very impressive. At low tide a vast expanse of the ocean floor is exposed. In the upper part of the Bay the tide can be a few miles away from where it was at high tide. And, of course, there is nothing like sea kayaking at high tide over where you were previously walking at low see links.

The "Old Sow off the coast of Deer Island: the largest whirlpool in the western hemisphere, the second largest in the world - second only to the Maelstrom Whirlpool of Norway. This natural wonder can be seen from the shores of Eastport, Maine.

The best time to see the "Old Sow" is 3 hours before high tide. Invoice Payments. Username Password Remember Me Log in. Make a Donation. They are: Vertical Tidal Effect This is the effect that gives the Bay of Fundy the highest tides in the world approx 50 feet designation.

Tidal Bore Most of these are on the Nova Scotia side of the bay. This means that the tidal cycle is about 12 hr, but not exactly. That is because in a month the moon makes one orbit around the Earth, and therefore it takes a little more than 12 hr from one high tide to the next about 12 hr and 25 minutes to be exact.

The Bay of Fundy is just the right length, about km, for a resonance to exist, and we have a high tidal range response like if you push the swing at just the right time, the person on the swing goes high. If the Bay of Fundy was a bit shorter, or a bit longer, the response would be less. Many accounts on the web attribute the high tidal range to the shape of the bay. While it is true that the bay gets steadily narrower and shallower, and that helps push the water up, that is very much a secondary effect, with the size of the bay matching the resonant condition being more important.

So the shape of the bay helps determine where the tidal range is highest, the fact we have high tides in the Bay of Fundy is primarily due to the size, not shape. The force created by these mighty waters is equal to locomotives or 25 million horses at the Minas Channel.

The immense energy of the tides stir up nutrients from the ocean floor, the mud flats and salt water marshes, providing an abundance of food for the birds, whales, fish and bottom dwellers that visit or call Fundy home. This highly productive, rich and diverse natural ecosystem has shaped the environment, the economy and the culture of the Fundy region.

The red sandstone and volcanic rock have been worn away to reveal fossils from over million years ago. By far the largest influence is the gravitational effect of the moon as it pulls the water toward itself, making a bulge on the surface of the ocean at the side of the moon lunar tide. These bulges are what we refer to as high tide. As the moon revolves around the earth the bulges shift with it causing a shift in the water level. Because the moon orbits in the same direction the earth rotates around its axis, it takes a little more than a day—24 hours and 53 minutes—for the earth to fully rotate in relation to the moon i.

Kudos to Gord Steadman for providing the proper wording. This in turn means that the time between a high tide and a low tide and vice versa is, on average, six hours and 13 minutes. This explains why tides arrive at the same location almost an hour later each day. The Sun also exercises a gravitational attraction on the earth, which causes a secondary, less powerful, tidal effect solar tide.

Approximately twice a month, the sun, moon and earth will more or less align to form either a full moon or a new moon. During each phase of a new moon or a full moon, the two tidal effects strengthen one another, resulting in higher high tides and lower low tides. Because of these periodic fluctuations in gravitational pulls from the sun and moon, the height of the tides varies from day to day.

The average tidal range of all oceans around the globe is 1 meter 3ft , so how can the tidal difference in the Bay of Fundy reach up to 16 meters? This tidal phenomenon exists because the bay has a few distinct features: a substantial amount of water and a unique shape and size that causes resonance.

The surface rises first at one end, then at the other, while the level in the middle remains nearly constant. The speed at which it oscillates depends on the length and depth of the basin. On a small scale, picture water sloshing around in a bathtub. It takes just seconds to slosh back and forth. Due to the enormous size, the unique funnel shape, and the immense depth of the Bay of Fundy, its natural period of oscillation is somewhere between 12 and 13 hours.

Imagine someone on a swing, going back and forth, reaching the same height every time. Now imagine someone else giving the person on the swing a solid push every time the person starts to move forward again. They are obviously going to go much higher this time. Well, the water in the Bay of Fundy is like the person on the swing and the tides coming in from the Atlantic Ocean are like the person giving the push.

The bay is shaped like a large natural funnel; it becomes narrower and shallower towards the upper part of the bay, forcing the water higher up onto the shores. There are approximately two high tides and two low tides every hour period in the Bay of Fundy. The time between a high tide and a low tide is, on average, six hours and 13 minutes. As such, visitors to the Fundy coast can realistically expect to see at least one high and one low tide during daylight hours.

Also keep in mind that high and low tide times move ahead approximately one hour each day, and tide times vary slightly for different locations around the Bay. This is the tidal effect the Bay of Fundy is renowned for and entitles it as the place with the highest tides in the world. The vertical effect can be seen at most wharves around the bay.

First visit at high tide to see all the boats float level with the top of the docks. Then return 6 hours later to see the boats sitting on the ocean floor, up to 16 meters lower than where they started.

Horizontal Tidal Effect Several beach areas at the upper parts of the Bay of Fundy showcase the horizontal tidal effect better than anywhere else in the world. In just over six hours the tides can expose a vast expanse of ocean floor.

And for this one, you will have to stop thinking in meters or feet. The water can travel up to 5 kilometres 3 miles away from where it was at high tide. This also means you will have to be careful when you explore the exposed ocean floor because the water can rush back in at over 10 meters per minute! Tidal Bore Tidal bores occur in just a few locations worldwide. A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a standing wave of water that travels upstream, against the current of a river or narrow bay.

This wave can travel at speeds close to 15 km per hour 10 mph and generates rapids in its wake that are between 3 and 3. In the summer months, experienced guides take visitors on a one-of-a-kind, upriver rafting adventure. Tidal bore rafting might just be the best way to experience the Bay of Fundy tides first hand! Another spectacular way to see the tides is to visit a location where tidal rapids, whirlpools or rips can be seen.

Old Sow is the largest whirlpool in the western hemisphere, and the second largest in the world! At Hopewell Rocks the tidal currents have carved and sculpted towering statues of red sandstone. Topped by evergreens, they resemble huge flowerpots and stand as one of many Fundy marvels.

At St. And with each receding tide, vast nutrient-rich mudflats are exposed in the Minas Basin. And underlining the fragility of nature is the certainty that with the continuous passage of time, the surging, monumental tides will ultimately destroy themselves as they slowly erode and disintegrate this unique basin.

I live in Portishead, UK four mikes from Clevedon. I am a volunteer on Clevedon pier where we enjoy the second highest tide in the world at around 15m on a spring tide. I am often asked where the highest tide is and of course this prompts a conversation about the Bay of Funday. I am hoping my question makes sense. This of course contributes the large difference between high and low tides. My thinking is that the water level at low tide would reach equilibrium with the Atlantic, and not be lower.

The higher water level phenomenon would repeat 6 hours later resulting in higher water levels during high tide. The land farther up the Bay is slightly above sea level. During the lowest tides, the level can be below sea level since the rushing water empties a lot of the Bay. The incoming tide backs up the rivers making them somewhat brackish. Then the ebbing tides allows the river to run fresh.

Amazing to watch. Is it true that this website is pretty crappy and has not been updated in a long time? Because it looks like lots of crap happens here but no one really updates this. Was this a weekend intern project? I have to say this is pretty lame for a tourist website, given the near extortionist tax rates on income and sales taxes in Nova Scotia is there really no money to do a decent job updating this page? Only you can determine if the information is true.

There is more to the tides than the Bay of Fundy. The tides affect the rivers, streams, wetlands, and beaches. Come enjoy. I visited there a few years ago and it is such a beautiful place that I have to go back this year. It is such a unique place that it is hard to properly describe, you have to go there and see if for yourself. Best experience of my life whirlpools were very interesting and my 4 year old almost fell in! Hope some environmentalist in Canada can engineer turbines using the tidal difference to generate electricity.

Or they are already there? Mike Just back home to a slowly recovering-from-the-fires Sonoma. Spent two divine weeks in the Maritimes. When the water reaches a certain point, the only place it can go is up. Hopewell is one of my favorite places on earth. Many islanders would like to keep it that way, however, people like myself take every opportunity to spread the word. Joan, glad to you speak for all Americans. If we go to the north side of the Bay of Fundy around where the fossil museum is will we see the tides?