The tide…
One of Grand Manan’s most interesting features is its incredible tide. It sets a rhythm for the locals, particularly for the fishermen, and is easily observable by visitors. It affects the coastal landscape four times a day, and reveals a treasure trove for beachcombers and coast enthusiasts.
We suggest you become aware of the tide when you first arrive on the island. Locals can identify its particular phase at any given time by simply looking out to the shore but you may not be able to do that right away. Pay attention in ports, for example - how high or low on the water are to boats tied at their moorings? As you drive over the little bridge and into historic Seal Cove, notice the water level too - if you can see the bottom of the creek under the bridge, the tide is low, low, low!
The original inhabitants of the shores of the Bay of Fundy enriched its history and heritage with legends and stories, rooted in their animistic beliefs and traditions. These include the Mi’kmaq story of Glooscap and how the Bay’s tide was created. Long ago, eager to take a bath, Glooscap directed Beaver to build a dam at the Bay’s mouth so he could enjoy its trapped waters. This angered Whale who grew impatient, even while Beaver began taking down the dam piece by piece, at Glooscap’s further directions. Whale, anxious to break the dam quickly, used his giant tail - its motion made the waters in the Bay sway back and forth. The tide created by Whale continues to this day.
Below is a great summary of this incredible phenomenon as provided by the Government of Canada on its page about the Fundy National Park. The information applies to the tide at Grand Manan as well:
“The highest tides in the world
Fundy's tides are the highest in the world because of an unusual combination of resonance (or seiche) and the shape of the bay. Like water in any basin, the water in the Bay of Fundy has a natural rocking motion called a seiche. You could compare this to the movement of water in a bathtub. Although the water in a bathtub sloshes from one end to the other and back again in a few seconds, it takes about 13 hours for the water in the bay to rock from the mouth of the bay to the head of the bay and back again.
The Atlantic Ocean tide rising and flooding into the bay every 12 hours and 25 minutes reinforces the rocking motion. To imagine this, picture an adult giving a gentle push to a child on a swing. Just a very small push, at the right time, is enough to make it go higher and higher. A pulse from the ocean tides sustains the seiche in the bay.
The Bay of Fundy's length is important. That's what makes the seiche frequency match the pulse from the Atlantic Ocean tides. The bay's shape is of secondary importance although still significant. The bay becomes narrower and shallower towards its head, forcing the water higher up the shores.
High and low tide
In the Bay of Fundy you can see two high and two low tides each day. The time between a high and low tide, on average, is six hours and 13 minutes.
If you come back to the same place two or three days in a row, you will notice that the water is at its highest and lowest about an hour later each day. This is because the tides work on a "lunar" or moon day which is 24 hours and 52 minutes long. While the earth is turning on its axis the moon is orbiting in the same direction around the earth and it takes one day and 52 minutes for a point on the earth to reappear directly beneath the moon. “
When you visit Seal Cove, and you really should! - you will see that the buildings directly on the shore or at the Seal Cove Brook are built on stilts. The reason for this - the tide.
Below are photos of one of the buildings on the Brook - one at low tide, the other at high.
The ebb and flow of the tide truly changes the coastal landscape, a few hours at a time. Beaches and coves become “deeper” when it ebbs, revealing rocks, stones, incredible sand patterns, and yes, lots of seaweed. When the tide returns, these are hidden for the next few hours beneath the waves, to be exposed again in time.
