Of Bores and Fundys

Before actually getting to Halifax we were determined to see the famous Bay of Fundy tides and tidal bores. We were a little confused about the big deal regarding these tides but as we observed and learned we saw the wonder of it all. The Bay of Fundy has some of the largest swings between low tide and high tide in the world. 50 feet of difference is not unusual and the record is 70 feet! In a 12 hour tidal cycle, 115 billion tonnes of water flow in and out of the basin. And this water sloshes in and out 2 times a day!(roughly) It comes in so quickly in some places that it causes a tidal bore which happens on the smaller tributaries of the Bay. A tidal bore occurs when the incoming tide actually reverses the flow of the river and creates a wave of varying height, depending on strength of the tide, that moves quite quickly upriver, bringing the incoming tide behind it.

sandstone shores

tide flats outside Thomas Bay

One of our guide books recommended Thomas Bay and Burntcoat Point as places to watch the tide come in so we chose Thomas Bay. We arrived just before sunset and quickly walked out to a point on the edge of Thomas Bay, which at that time was completely empty, covered with sea grasses and mud flats and interesting shelves of sandstone. The flats and ledges continued out from the point a good half a mile. While watching yet another spectacular sunset from the lovely sculptured rocks of the point, we could see the tide racing up, covering the flats ahead of us. This area of the Bay is too wide for a tidal bore but to actually see a tide coming in this quickly was astonishing. In lower places it flowed in as fast as a river or a flood, carrying mud and sand with its speed.  We were running out of daylight so we didn't get to see the whole event and had to wait until morning. The next high tide was due at 10:20 the next morning. I set out about 8:15 or so, not sure what I was doing or was going to see. I walked down to the bay that was empty last night and saw that it was beginning to fill at its furthest reaches. I took at different trail so that I could see across the Bay of Fundy as the high tide finished its work. I perched myself on a high bluff overlooking a rocky beach. Thayer joined me after a bit and we watched the water, flowing like a mighty river, quickly cover gigantic boulders and extensive beaches. It was a amazing amount of water to be sure. We had a wonderful hike back through the woods, around the once empty stream and back to the beach of the Thomas Bay, which was now full to the brim. 

Thomas Bay 8 AM

Thomas Bay 11 AM

woods walk

Hoping to be more impressed with a tidal bore we made our plan for the next day.  We got to the popular site near Truro several hours early because I didn't want to miss anything but really they are absolutely predictable, ours was coming at 11:29 am. The Salmon River was just flowing nicely along, curving around a large sand and mud bar in a broad river valley, doing what rivers do best: flowing downhill to the sea. At about 11:28 we saw a little wave rounding the bend downstream and moving rapidly upriver. The highest part of the wave was nearest the shores and there were several smaller waves coming in behind. At its tallest, the bore was about 2 ft. tall. The river stopped flowing downstream, got caught up in the wave and was pushed back upstream. The sand and mud bar completely disappeared in less than 10 minutes as the bore went past us and continued upriver. The river(and tide) was now flowing uphill. I can't actually say that it was jump up and down exciting, but it was quite astonishing and impressive.

Tidal Bore on the Salmon River

I probably would have jumped up and down in my usual fashion, but I had a touch of flu that kept me down the rest of the day. With an aching head and body it was good time for it to start raining. We found a place to hole up with some WIFI and I slept and rested most of the afternoon. The next day I felt a little better and we continued our travels into the fortress city of Halifax.

for my next trick...

Sunset on Thomas Bay