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The Bay of Fundy is one of the most famous landmarks in Canada. With the highest tides in the world, millions of people come out to see the ocean rise and fall in the small corner of New Brunswick.
What are some of the most interesting facts about the Bay of Fundy? Here are just a few cool tidbits.
- It takes about 13 hours for the water in the Bay of Fundy to go from the mouth of the bay to the head of the bay and then back again. The tide rises and falls every 12 hours and 25 minutes.
- The reason that the tides are so strong in the Bay of Fundy are because of the delta-like shape of the bay.
- During certain times of the year, the tide will adjust 53.5 feet in total, which is higher than a three-storey building. This will happen every 206 days when the moon is at its closest to the Earth.
- The tides are at their highest twice per month and are called spring tides, despite having nothing to do with the spring season. These tides happen twice a month when the sun and moon are in
alignment.
- Bay of Fundy is famous for its tides, but it also has the largest whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere. The Old Sow Whirlpool is also the second-largest in the world.
- Due to the constant movement of the tides, many rock faces have been eroded in the bay. They have helped to expose many fossils, and the Fundy tides have exposed the richest deposits of Carboniferous fossils in the world.
- The Bay of Fundy, and the Fundy National Park forest, have some of the highest marine biodiversity in the world, comparable to that of the Amazon Rainforest.
- Where does the name come from? Well, the word Fundy appears to be a corruption of Fendu, the French word for split. Others feel it may
Photo courtesy of Dennis Jarvis come from funda, the Portuguese word for deep.
- When the tides are moving, the power of the Bay of Fundy can reverse the flow of rivers that go into the bay. This tidal bore, which happens twice a day, reverses the rivers so they seem to move backwards.
- Between July and October, there are roughly two million sandpipers found in the bay. They represent 75 to 95 per cent of the world’s population. They will double their weights before flying 4,000 kilometres to South America.
