RP293 The Bay of Fundy

 RP293 The Bay of Fundy

The Bay of Fundy on the Atlantic coast of North America doesn't look special on a map. It's not very big, only 270 kilometers long, but it does one amazing thing: it floods with over 100 billion tons of water twice a day. The Bay of Fundy is said to have the world's highest tides.

The bay juts from the tip of Maine in the USA to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada. At low tide, beaches spread out from under tall cliffs made from flood basalt (ancient lava). As the tide flows, water slowly covers the sand, reaches the basalt walls, and then slides up the stone walls to its maximum. Above the top of the highest tides, trees begin to grow. In many places, you can see exactly how high the tide reaches by the green line of trees.

These tides move 17 meters up and down twice in the course of each day. They make the Bay of Fundy rich with fossils and semi-precious stones. The force of the water erodes cliff sides and reveals these embedded fossils and gems.

The water has also created amazing geological formations, like the flowerpot rocks. The flowerpot rocks are stacks of mostly sandstone rock that stand on their own in the bay, with trees growing out of their tops. The powerful tides have whittled them into top-heavy shapes with narrow bases and tilting, round tops. Some of them form archways that can only be seen at low tide. You can kayak around the trees at high tide and walk along the beaches far below them at low tide!

Animals also love the bay. At least eight whale species come to feast in the bay in the summer. Seabirds flock to the shores to prey on tidal creatures. Humans follow to watch the whales and birds and try to understand the force of nature in this unique place.