Bay of Fundy
Come to New Brunswick to see one of the worlds true marine wonders.
Powered by the world's highest tides, the Bay of Fundy is one of the richest marine ecosystems on the planet and has recently been nominated as a finalist of the "New 7 Wonders of Nature" competition (vote for us here).
Each day 100 billion tonnes of seawater - more than the combined flow of the world’s freshwater rivers - flows in and out of the Bay of Fundy during one tide cycle. The power of the water pouring through submarine canyons forces cold water upwards. The consequence is an abundance of food for marine life and that has given the Bay of Fundy one of the greatest and most accessible concentrations of whales and seabirds in the North Atlantic.
Here, twice daily, the tides rise and fall up to an incredible 16 metres (the height of a four-storey building) ! Walk across the ocean floor at low tide and six hours later your footprints will be covered by a wall of water well over ten metres deep.
Why are the tides so high?
Bordered by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick (to the north) and Nova Scotia (to the south), the Bay of Fundy is shaped like a gigantic funnel, almost 300km long. The gradual tapering and shallowing constricts the tidal flow into the bay. The bay also experiences the “Coriolis effect” (which pushes water to the right in the Northern Hemisphere) and the “seiche effect” – similar to the wave action produced by sloshing water back and forth in a bath, with each wave higher than the previous one. In fact, the Bay of Fundy is sometimes called “the world’s largest bathtub”.
According to ancient Mi’kmaq folklore, the demi-god Glooscap allowed Whale to break down a dam that Beaver had constructed. Glooscap had asked for the dam to be built so he could have a bath, but then realized that he was taking Whale’s water. The Whale broke the dam resulting in the Bay of Fundy’s mammoth tides.
Believe whichever version you prefer!
