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Quiz
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The
Parks / New
Brunswick / Fundy
National Park
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The Bay of Fundy is like a
funnel that stretches 150 km, separating Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick. At its head, it splits
into two narrow bays, Chignecto Bay and Minas
Basin. Approximately 12 km of shoreline are
in Fundy National Park. The Bay of Fundy tides
are among the highest in the world, rising as
much as 16 m at Hopewell Cape, and averaging
9 m in the Park. The tides change twice a day,
every six hours and thirteen minutes, powered
by the gravitational pulls of the sun and moon
and increased by the funnel shape and decreasing
depth of the bay. The waters of the Atlantic
surge into the narrowing bay, building tide
upon tide in a rocking motion called a 'seche'.
With each tide, the bay flushes 100 cubic km
of water, roughly equal to the entire daily
discharge of all the rivers in the world combined.
At low tide, visitors can
see fishing boats in the port of Alma sitting
on little boxes on the ocean floor. Fishermen
must time their departures and returns by the
high tides. Low tide provides a wonderful opportunity
to explore the ocean floor, but be careful not
to wander too far; the incoming tide could cut
off your return route, and have you up to your
neck in water in less than an hour.
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