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| Photo Credit: Mredden [Public domain] |
The Beautiful Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy has a super star fame due to its too high tides. The tidal range of the bay is the highest in the world. But it is not everything about tides; there are also many things to see here. It is one of the most popular tourist spots in Canada.
The bay is situated on the Atlantic Coast
of Canada. It is sandwiched between two provinces of the country, New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia. Actually, the bay is the north eastern most part of the Gulf
of Maine. In fact, the southernmost part of the Bay of Fundy touches the US
state of Maine.
Let’s do some boring Geography and check
some facts about the bay. The Bay of Fundy is situated within the longitude of 44°05'N
to 44°39'N. It is extended from Cape St. Mary to Little River Head.
Bay of Fundy Tides Timelapse Video
Bay of Fundy Tides Timelapse Video
The bay is 170 mi or 250 km long. The mouth
of the bay is about 85 km in width but the middle portion is about 45 km. The
tail of the bay has two split parts – Minas Basin and Chignecto Bay. Minas
Basin has another fraction named Cobequid Bay. On the other hand, the Minas
Basin is also subdivided into two parts Cumberland Basin and Shepody Bay. It is
all very confusing I know.
Cape Chignecto is the divider between the
Minas Basin and Chignecto Bay. There is another long and thin cape named Cape
Split near the Minas Basin.
The surface area of the bay is 4,946 sq mi
(12,810.1 sq km). The average depth of the Bay of Fundy is 75 meter or 246 ft.
It is shallow compared to depths of the nearby ocean.
Famous Tides of the Bay of Fundy
We all know that the Bay of Fundy is famous
for its tides. The height of the Tidal Bore of the bay is the thing which
attracts people from all over the world to watch.
What is this “Tidal Bore” thingy? You will
hear about it many times if you go to Bay of Fundy. It is nothing but a wall of
tidal wave. It can only be seen during the flood times, twice a day. Pretty
obviously, the ebb tides do not form such “walls”.
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| Bay of Fundy Tidal Bore by Stephan Deibel, YouTube [Creative Commons] |
The tides take place after an interval of 6
hours and 13 minutes. So, one can experience one high and another low tide
within a day, from dawn till dusk. Point to be noted: the timing of the tide
changes about 1 hour every day. There is also regional variation of the tide
time. So, it is better to check the time beforehand from the locals.
The average height of the tide is 3.5 m or
11 ft in the bay. If you want to see the really high tidal bores, go to the
Minas Basin. There you can see the phenomenal 50 ft tidal bores. The best time
to view the highest tides is the springtime.
The reason behind the high tidal bores is the
shape of the bay. Bay of Fundy has a wide mouth which becomes narrower to the
end. So, when the tidal water enters into the mouth of the funnel, it is forced
to go through the narrower channels to the end. As a result, the high tidal
waves are generated.
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| The Fundy Bay is a beautiful place Photo: Bardencj[GFDL] |
Rivers
There are many small and medium sized
rivers which add their water in the Bay of Fundy. Petitcodiac is the largest
among all the bay area rivers. Its length is 79 km (49 mi). Some other important
rivers are Salman, Upper Salmon, Little Salmon, Big Salmon, Saint John, St
Crox, Cornwallis, Shubenacadie etc. In short, there are different types of Salmon
rivers fall here that is all.
The rivers all experience the tidal bores.
During the high tides, the force of the waves pushes back the river water and
the sea water reaches many miles upstream through the river channels.
The famous Reversing Falls of the St John River
is an interesting natural wonder. There is a narrow granite gorge through which
the river water passes in two opposite directions according the high or low
tides. There you can see the rapid change direction during the tides.
Economy
The economy of the surrounding area is
mainly dependent on nearby pulp and paper industry. There is also the Irving oil
refinery which has a great impact in the local economy. Bay of Fundy is also a
very popular tourist place. So, tourism industry has flourished around the bay.
There is also known for fishing of large amount of Herring.
Some of the important ports around the bay
are Hansport, Bayside, Eastport, etc. There are also many private and public
ferry services which helps people and goods to move from one place to another.
Some More Interesting Facts
There is a big whirlpool in Fundy. At 75 m,
The Old Sow is the 2nd largest whirlpool of the world. It can be
seen in the Passamaquoddy Bay caused by the conflict between the tidal waves
and the water flow of the St Croix River. The best time to spot the whirlpool
is the three hours before the high tide.
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| Old Sow Whirlpool Credit: Creative Commons |
Between July and October each year, about
two million Sandpiper birds are migrated to the muddy beaches of the Bay of
Sandy. During the winter, they fly away 4000 km south to the Latin America.
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| Photo: Cjuneau [CC BY 2.0] |
The areas around the Bay of Sandy and its
rivers are flooded everyday by the huge tidal waves. As a result red mudflats
have been created. They can be seen mostly in the upper regions of the bay.
The mudflats of the bay are thriving with
life. There are many species of invertebrates here. Most famous among these are
the Mud shrimps (Corophium volutator).
Hopewell Rocks are among the many natural
wonders of the Bay of Fundy. These rocks are also popularly known as “Flowerpot
Rocks”. The force of the tides has eroded the base of these rocks. But the top
remains untouched by the water. So, they get unusual wide head narrow base
shapes. Often, with green trees atop, they looked like huge flower pots.
Due to
the diversity of wildlife, the Bay of Fundy is compared with the Amazon Rain-forests and the Great Barrier Reefs.
Bay of Fundy is frequented by many species
of whales. The most common species can be noticed here is the Northern Right
Whale. Some other species of whale who visit here are Humpback, Finback,
Killer, Blue, Baleen, Sei etc.
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| Whale in the Bay Photo: Jimfbleak (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] |
There is a tidal energy project going on to
generate clean renewable energy by using the immense force of the tidal waves
of Fundy. There is already a tidal power farm is operating in the area. Annapolis
Tidal Power Plant generates 30 million kWh power each year.
Environmental Issues
The Bay of Fundy is the home of thousands
of marine and semi-marine species of animals and vegetation. The nutrient rich
waters and the mudflat is full with numerous types of fishes, crabs, krill, plankton,
whales, seals, dolphins, shrimps, birds and many other types of vertebrates and
invertebrates.
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| Hopewell Rocks, Bay of Fundy by Tango7174 (Own work) [GFDL] |
We, the people must consider the fact that
development is necessary but it should not cost the Bay of Fundy dearly. So,
every effort should be taken to save the Bay.
Reference
Wikipedia
Google Maps
Canadian Geographic
Reference
Wikipedia
Google Maps
Canadian Geographic
