 Saint John Reversing Falls
A cache by robich Hidden: 8/30/2005
Size:  (Not chosen) Difficulty:  Terrain:  (1 is easiest, 5 is hardest)
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There are quite a few different places to view this world famous
"phenomenon": All along the parking area, over the bridge -
Fallsview Park, also.
The "Reversing Falls" is caused by the tremendous rise and fall of
the tides of the Bay of Fundy, which are the highest in the world.
The natural southward-facing opening of the Bay of Fundy receives
the on rushing ocean tides directly like a funnel. The tidewater is
normal when it enters the bay at its widest point. But the farther
up the bay it travels the more it changes. It is, in effect,
squeezed by the ever-narrowing sides and the constant shallowing of
the bottom forcing the water higher up the shores. The low tide
running out of the bay collides with the new, incoming high tide,
combining forces to make a higher wave coming in.
The combination of wave forces is called resonance.
The Bay of Fundy tides are a result of the tidal action originating
in the Southern Indian Ocean sweeping around the Cape of Good Hope
and then northward into the Bay of Fundy. They are also affected by
the distance of the moon from the earth at this longitude..
Here in Saint John, the bay tides rise 28 ½ feet. When the
tide is low, the St. John River, 450 miles long, empties into the
bay.
Between Fallsview Park and the Pulp Mill, the full flow of the
river thunders through a narrow gorge. An underwater ledge, 36 feet
below the surface causes the water in the river to tumble downward
into a 175-200 foot deep pool. The water then boils in a series of
rapids and whirlpools. As the bay tides begin to rise, they slow
the course of the river and finally stop the river's flow
completely.
This short period of complete calm is called slack tide - the only
time that boats are able to safely navigate the Falls.
Shortly after this slack tide the bay tides become higher than the
river level and slowly, at first, the river begins to flow
upstream. As the bay tides continue to rise, the reverse flow
gradually increases and the rapids begin to form, reaching their
peak at high tide. The effect of this reversal is felt upstream as
far as Fredericton, more than 80 miles inland. At this point the
tidal waters are actually 14 ½ feet higher than the river.
After high tide the bay tides begin to fall and the upstream flow
of the river gradually lowers until the bay tides fall to the level
of the river - once again resulting in another slack tide. The
river then resumes its normal course and begins to flow back out of
the bay. The bay tides continue to fall below the level of the
river until at low tide the rapids are again at their peak, flowing
down stream. At this point the tidal waters are 14 ½ feet
lower than the river level. The tide rises and falls once about
every 12 and a half hours.
Native legend has it that Big Beaver, kicked out from his home,
came here and built a damn across the mouth of the river flooding
the countryside. The Natives asked Glooscap (an invisible
super-human deity) for help. He arrived in a huge war canoe, and
with his club, he smashed Big Beaver's Dam. The pieces went all
over the countryside. The largest piece became Partridge Island, at
the mouth of the harbour and his war club was "Split Rock",
underneath the Reversing Falls Bridge. The Native name for the
falls means "The Beaver's Rolling Dam".
As mentioned, there are several different viewing areas.
NOTE: It's not necessary to take your 2 pictures on the same
day.
I've included a "HIGH TIDE" video - Please click on "User's Web
Page" (at the top of this page), if you wish to view this.
Tide Predictor (tide
schedule)
Have fun, learn and enjoy!
NOTE: As of
October 2006, there are NEW requirements for Earth Caches. For this
cache, you will now need to submit a TOTAL of TWO (2) pictures
(with your GPS in the
picture), to log this cache. You need to indicate "when" these
pictures were taken (time) and TOTAL amount of time, between BOTH
pictures !!!
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6 user(s) watching this cache.
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