Staying west of St. John for a few nights was my first experience with the tides of the Bay of Fundy, and it was pretty darned amazing, especially considering my location was at the low end of the tidal range. According to this map, I was in the 9 meter (29.5 feet) range and by the time I finish my visit to Nova Scotia, I will have experienced the highest end of the range near the Minas Basin (14 meters, or 46 feet). Cool.
Here’s the view across New River Beach towards the picnic area and hiking trails, at close to low tide. If you don’t mind jumping a few puddles and tiny streams, you can walk all the way over there. I did, and it took me about 10 minutes of fast walking.
It’s a completely different story when the tide comes in. If I tried to stand where I took the above photo, I’d be hip deep in cold water!
Here’s another two views of the tidal action. In this one, I’m standing on a cliff above the beach.
The tide, as it comes closer to the end of the beach, gets louder and louder, so that I can hear the waves from my campsite across the road. And the beach, which was so wide in the previous photo, is now only about 12 feet wide.
I’m looking forward to seeing more Fundy tidal action through the next four weeks while I make my way around Nova Scotia. So stay tuned!
(And, yes, the “Friday Fundy” thing might be one of the worse puns I’ve ever made in print…)
Go out, go out, I beg of you, and taste the beauty of the wild. Behold the miracle of the earth with all the wonder of a child.
Edna Jaques (Canadian author and poet)