World's Highest Tides
Think ocean tides and you may picture your last visit to the beach - the waves gently lapping at your toes, the water playfully teasing the edge of your beach towel, frothy water slowly swirling toward your small sand castle. Depending on the beach you were visiting, the incoming tide may not even have reached your sand castle, leaving it untouched for several tidal cycles.
Now just imagine the tide coming in and washing that picture right out of your mind. The tides of New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy are not those kinds of tides. Picture instead 100 billion tons of saltwater rushing into the bay, rising up and receding as much as 16 meters (50 feet). Twice a day, the sea levels here rise and fall between 10 and 14 meters (32 and 46 feet). The vertical tidal range (the difference in water levels between high and low tide) has been as great as 20 meters (more than 65 feet). The tides in the Bay of Fundy are the highest tides in the world and include the greatest tidal ranges on Earth. View time-lapse video footage of the tides (courtesy of The Hopewell Rocks Ocean Tidal Exploration Site)- Small | Large
Are you having a hard time picturing what 100 billion tons of water reaching heights of 40 to 50 feet actually looks like? Look closely at the SuperGraphic and see the people walking on the beach at low tide on the right. If it is low tide in the early morning hours, they can stroll along the beach, maybe even build a sand castle. Six to eight hours later, at high tide, the water rises to about the height of a four-story building. Now look at the left side of the graphic. The water rises so high up on the beach that people can now enjoy kayaking over the same spot where their sand castle once stood.
Now picture one more thing: the moon. What on Earth does the moon have to do with ocean tides on Earth?