Today we drove to South Maitland to the Fundy Tidal Interpretive Center to watch the Shubenacadie River Tidal Bore. The bay's incoming tide is so extreme that it temporarily reverses the flow of several rivers that empty into the bay. One hundred and sixty billion tonnes of water (more than the combined total of all the freshwater rivers and streams in the world) flows in and out of the bay in on 12.5 hour tide cycle each day. Today it was a around 1:20 p.m.. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to watch this slow but steady stream of water enter this virtually dry river basin from zero to 30 ft. in about a half an hour. It is the only place in the world where you can experience the thrill of tidal bore river rafting. I took some pictures and some movie footage. The river bed is very red here, much like the soil on Prince Edward Island. The water evidently clears closer to the ocean. This was definitely worth watching, quite the experience.
 |
| Dry river bed before the tidal bore. |
 |
| Our observation bridge behind Elwin. |
Dry river bed behind me.
 |
| Dry Shubenacadie River bed. |
 |
| You can slowly see the water coming over a 20 minute period. |
 |
| The rafters are coming over what was dry before. |
 |
| Filling in the dry spots. |
 |
| Getting deeper. |
 |
| Riding the tidal bore. You get very wet and red muddy clothing. |
 |
| Riding the tidal bore over what was dry about 30 minutes ago. |
 |
| River is full now. |
 |
| Swirling water, that was previously only a few feet deep. |
 |
| The water eventually rises to the water mark on bridge piling over 4 hours and then the tide goes out and it starts all over again. |
No comments:
Post a Comment