Bay of Fundy

Sunday, 19 July, Monday, 28 July, and Tuesday, 29 July 2026

The Bay of Fundy is noted for having the most extreme tides on Earth. We wanted to check it out!

Tidal Bores

When the incoming high tide meets the flow of a shallow river, a tidal bore can form where the two streams meet. The bore can travel many miles upstream. We viewed the tidal bore at two different locations on two different days. The size (and thus the impressiveness) of the bore depends upon the position of the moon and the weather. We were at a time when the moon was farther away from the earth (apogee), and thus the gravitational influence was considerably less than had the moon been at perigee (nearest point in its orbit).

On Monday, 27 July we went to the Fundy Discovery Site near Truro, NS, on the Salmon River. We saw the wave (above), but underwhelming isn't weak enough to describe the experience.

On Tuesday, 28 July we went to the Bore Park viewing stand in Moncton, NB. This time the bore was marginally better. We could hear the wave for at least a minute before it came in view. However, it was worth it just to hear the program presented by the National Park ranger in impeccable English and French. An impressive performance!

The bore wave passes the viewing stands.

Hopewell Rocks - Low Tide and High Tide

On Sunday, 19 July, we went to Hopewell Rocks, near Moncton, NB to see the Bay of Fundy at low tide. On Tuesday, 29 July, we returned an hour-or-so before high tide.

Low tide. Note the size of people wandering around the beach and how high the seaweed comes up on the rocks.

Roughly the same view at high tide. We were surprised by how muddy the water was.

Low tide. You can walk through the hole in the rocks.

High tide. Now you have to kayak through the hole in the rocks.

Two more low tide/high tide photos, but not paired.

Low tide.

High tide.

And finally, a fun photo from Hopewell Rocks that has nothing to do with tides.

The paved path to the Hopewell Rocks Visitor Center presented a dizzying optical illusion of waves. Even Lon's foot placement suggests an uneven surface. But it is completely level.