On coastlines around the world, the tide goes in and the tide goes out – usually (but not always) twice a day – but have you ever noticed that some tides seem more extravagant than others?
Some places have timid tides that inch in and out a tiny amount while others have a range of several metres. On average, a typical tidal range might be about one metre.
Located between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada’s Bay of Fundy is known for its whopping tides, which are the highest in the world. “The tides in the Bay of Fundy can rise an unbelievable 16 metres (52.5 ft), with 160 billion tonnes of seawater gushing in and out of the bay twice a day,” says Tourism New Brunswick on its website.
At the Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park, the difference is so extreme that you can stroll below immense sea stacks looking for fossils in the sand then come back at high tide to see these impressive geological formations from a kayak. For safety reasons, this is only possible during the peak summer season – May to October – when the park is open.
Thrill-seekers love it here. They can visit the world’s second largest tidal whirlpool – known as the Old Sow because of the strange, slurping noises it makes – and even go rafting on a tidal bore.
“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,” explains the Bay of Fundy on its website. “At high tide, the extraordinary volume of water in the Bay floods into these rivers and, as the riverbanks narrow, the compressing waters rise in a spectacular surge and a visible standing wave, sometimes 1 metre (3 ft) in height!”
The rushing water can reach speeds of nearly 10 miles an hour! “Many people have likened the sound to that of an approaching railway train,” they add.
There is only one location on the planet where you can go rafting on a tidal bore: the Shubenacadie River in Nova Scotia.
The Bay of Fundy’s awesome tides do more than just create the opportunity for hair-raising adventure. These “powerful tides […] ceaselessly flush and churn the rich nutrients along the coastline,” says the Bay of Fundy’s website. The result: wildlife – and lots of it.
Algae, krill and plankton are all key ingredients that make a veritable feast for animals further up the food chain, and the Bay of Fundy has these in abundance. These tasty snacks entice small animals and fishes, such as herring, mackerel, pollock, young salmon and shad.
Then larger carnivorous predators are tempted into the area: cod, flounder, haddock, halibut, tuna, sea sturgeons and squid are all found in the Bay of Fundy too.
And then there’s the big stuff that tourists travel miles to see. Filter-feeding baleen whales regularly visit these waters to gorge themselves on their tiny prey.
Whale watchers visiting during summer might see the flash of a white band on the fin of a minke whale swimming past or watch the acrobatic displays of a playful humpback jumping and splashing the water with its fins. Or they might even see the adorable first attempts of a baby humpback learning to breach.
If you’re lucky, you might even spot an endangered sei whale.
Critically endangered North Atlantic right whales sometimes visit too, as do the world’s second largest whales: fin whales. These behemoths can grow to around 27 metres long – often around the same size or bigger than the boats that come to see them.
Not to mention the sharks, dolphins, seals and harbour porpoises that can also be spotted.
These productive waters benefit the local community by helping to generate income through both tourism and fisheries. “The Fundy fishery generates more than 200 million dollars annually, making it the most affluent fishery region in Atlantic Canada,” writes the Bay of Fundy.
