Everything You Need to Know to Experience the Bay of Fundy Tides (2024)

FAQs

Everything You Need to Know to Experience the Bay of Fundy Tides? ›

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.

Not only is the Bay of Fundy famous for high tides, but its shoreline cliffs and beaches are home to the world's most complete fossil record of life 300 million years ago, making it part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site AND a UNESCO Global Geopark.

The Bay of Fundy, located in Canada between the eastern Maritime Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, has one of the world's largest tidal ranges. High tide can be as much as 16 meters (the height of a three-story house) higher than low tide (SF Fig. 6.14 A).

The Tidal Bore can be best viewed at the Fundy Discovery Site in Truro and the Fundy Tidal Interpretive Centre South Maitland. These sites will also list the times of the tidal bore. My Bay of Fundy map will help you locate these places along the bay.

A before and after like you've never seen

One of the best places to do this is in Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick. Here, during low tide, you can actually walk on the ocean floor and take a closer look at the underwater eco-system of the region. You'll also have an opportunity to walk under the Hopewell flowerpots.

TRAVEL TIP: June to September is the best time to make the trip, since some restaurants, attractions, and inns may be closed or have limited hours during the offseason. July to August is peak whale-watching season.

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.

The highest tides in the world can be found in Canada's Bay of Fundy at Burntcoat Head in Nova Scotia. Image credit: Shawn M. Kent. The highest tides in the world can be found in Canada at the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia.

The tides here have the greatest shift in the world — up to 50 feet every 6 hours and 13 minutes. That's higher than a four-story building. The tide recedes at the Hopewell Rocks. During a 12-hour period, 100 billion tons of water flow in and out of the bay.

The entrance fee for Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park is $15.54 CAD per adult, $12 CAD for seniors aged 65+, and $8 CAD for children between 5 and 18 years old. It's worth noting that the tickets are valid for any two consecutive days, allowing you to come and go as you please during park hours on those days.

Is Bay of Fundy worth seeing? ›

Basically, the Bay of Fundy is the body of water between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. This bay is known for the highest tides in the world. The Bay of Fundy coastline is rugged and has amazing whale-watching opportunities. There are picturesque panoramic scenes around every corner.

Saint John, NB, is the only major city on the Bay of Fundy.

You can watch the tidal bore twice – first by visiting the mouth of the Shubenacadie River and watching the bore pass by the Dawson Dowell Park wharf, and then by driving about 15 minutes to the Fundy Tidal Interpretive Centre to watch the bore pass our observation deck 50 minutes later.

The Bay of Fundy

The horizontal range can be as much as 5 kilometres, exposing vast areas of ocean floor. The tidal currents in the Bay of Fundy are fast, exceeding 10 knots (5 m/s, or 18 km/hr) at peak surface speed.

Bathymetric map of the Bay of Fundy. Red-to-orange colours indicate shallow water and blue-to-violet colours denote deeper water. Much of the bay is less than 100 m deep but the southwest part of the bay reaches 240 m water depth.

The amazing phenomenon of the Reversing Falls Rapids is a sight to behold. If you time it just right, you can watch the Bay of Fundy's monstrously high tide reverse the flow of the mighty Saint John River, even as it pushes through a gorge formed by the collision of continents millions of years ago.

Located in New Brunswick on Canada's Atlantic Coast, Fundy National Park encompasses 20 kilometres of dramatic shoreline along the Bay of Fundy, famous for having the world's highest tides. Twice a day, up to 12 metres of water or more rush in and out, roughly equivalent to the height of a four-floor building.

Bay of Fundy has the worlds highest tidal range. Bay of Fundy is known for having the rarest whales in the world, the highest tides on earth and for being scattered with dinosaur fossils. In 2014 experts made Bay of Fundy one of the natural wonders of the world.

The world's highest recorded tides at the Bay of Fundy are caused by a combination of several variables, including the gravitational pull of the moon and sun, the rotation of the Earth, and the area's unique funnel shape matching the Atlantic Ocean tides' pulse. However, the most important factor is tidal resonance.

The upper Bay of Fundy is recognized for having the highest tides in the world, rising and falling 13 meters on average and more than 16 meters during spring tides. Fed by 100 billion tons of water, these tides expose over 80,000 hectares of invertebrate-rich mudflats when they retreat.