The Highest Tides in the World!
Fundy is a place of absolute wonder where the world’s highest tides rise over 50 feet in six hours–more than twenty-two times greater than the average in open seas. Fundy National Park, established in 1948, protects 80 square miles of land along the bay’s west coast, where the tides and cold waters are responsible for coastal spruce and fir forests, salt and freshwater wetlands, .
The variation between low and high tide around Alma Beach, is so spectacular that tourists can wander around three-quarters of a mile over the tidal flats to the ocean’s edge–then kayak the entire way a couple of hours afterwards, when 100 billion tons of sea water have raced back in, producing a roar during mid-tide referred to as the “voice of the moon.” You will find plant fossils millions of years old inside the ancient sandstone rocks at the ocean’s edge. And just offshore, an endless number of migratory shorebirds feed on crustaceans trapped by the ocean’s retreat at low tide. It’s truly a bird watchers paradise!
Nearby Alma, the park provides a manicured look, with gardens, natural stone walls, and quite a few sports activities, like golf and tennis, while offshore you’ll be able to select from whale watching (the Bay of Fundy offers the most significant population of right whales anywhere), sea kayaking, and canoeing. Walking opportunities are plentiful, with 78 miles of trails cris-crossing the park’s eight miles of bayside coastline as well as its hilly inland, whose rolling plateau is slashed by fast-flowing streams and deep valleys.
Individuals seeking scenery with significantly less challenge can take the Fundy Coastal Drive going from St. Stephen to Aulac, moving among not merely natural splendor but a few lovely villages too, such as the 19th-century small town of St. Andrews with its notable Fairmont Algonquin Hotel. Built in 1889 to help encourage wealthy travelers away from the city heat, the Algonquin is known as a manor-style gem, having a red-tile roof and bay views on the top floors. If you’d favor something less massive, the Kingsbrae Arms is always graded among the area’s finest accommodations. Constructed in 1897, there are only 8 rooms, all decorated with chic good taste and providing fantastic sights of the Bay of Fundy. Nearby, the Kingsbrae Garden features twenty-seven acres of flowers and scenery.
Forty miles northeast of the national park, the Hopewell Rocks (“The World’s Most Famous Flowerpots”) are a group of immense boulders topped by trees and made concave at the bottom by centuries of tidal erosion. They’re the most photographed Bay of Fundy landmark by far. Local Mi’kmaq legend has it that the boulders were once men, who were enslaved by angry whales and turned to stone when they tried to escape.
Learn more about the Bay of Fundy tides by clicking on the link or stop by Alex Young’s site where you can find out all about Bay of Fundy whales and where to best see them!
March 22, 2011 | Posted by Alex Young
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