World Traveler Enjoy The Best Destinations and Exotic Locations

Bay Of Fundy In Canada

Posted on 03 Sep 2009 by admin | Filled under: canada

OK, so call us weird, but we had always wanted to see the Bay of Fundy in Canada. I know what some of our friends thought... Bore tides? How boring!

But really it was fun, never boring. The Bay of Fundy is home to the highest tides in the world. It's a long ocean bay that is 170 miles (270 km) long running between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia on the east coast of Canada.

We started our adventure by flying to Halifax, Nova Scotia.... to see those bore tides. They're really called tidal bores. You may have heard about these... it's where the tide reverses the flow of a river making the water run in instead of out. The tide pushes the water into a wave... sometimes up to 10-12 feet high. Alas, the tidal bore we saw was only a couple of feet high, but it's pretty amazing to see a river completely stop then start flowing in the opposite direction! Most of the tidal bores are on the Nova Scotia side.

Other tidal effects you might see are vertical tidal effect, horizontal tidal effect, and tidal rapids or whirlpools.

The horizontal tidal effect is where, in the upper parts of the bay, you see the tide go out for what seems like miles. Tidal rapids are just that.... rapids created by the flow of the tides. Sometimes these are called "reversing falls" because the tide appears to be a water fall that reverses direction depending on whether the tide is going in or out. You can ride jet boats to ride the rapids and reversing falls.... I guarantee that's not boring!

You can sit at one of the local restaurants to watch the vertical tidal phenomenon. Boats can be floating at dockside, then as you dine, you notice them floating lower and lower, until at low tide you may see them stranded in the mud. OK... it does take six hours, so you may not see the whole show at dinner, but you get what we mean.

That's the tidal cycle. 6 hours and 13 minutes to go from high tide to low tide. Then another six hours and 13 minutes to get back to full tide. Two full cycles a day.... but of course, the two cycles take more than 24 hours, so you have to check tidal charts so you'll know the times to see the high and low tides. Believe me, tide charts are easy to find anywhere around the Bay of Fundy.... those tides are important to the tourist trade, not to mention the fishermen of the area.

There are plenty of places to stay‚ they are mostly cozy inns and bed-and-breakfasts. You'll find plenty of restaurants to choose from... some with a view of those tides. Why, you can even go wine tasting.... yes, wine tasting in Nova Scotia. We tried some great wines while waiting for the tides to change.

The Bay of Fundy is a UNESCO Biosphere reserve. It's great for active travelers too. You can go whale watching, sea kayaking, and hiking. Nothing boring there. Still, it was the tidal bores that called us to that part of Canada, and we still say it was exciting.

Comments (0)