Tides of Mayan Riviera EarthCache
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Located on the sandy beach the Riviera Maya, also known as the Mayan Riviera, is a district following the coastal Highway 307 which parallels the Caribbean coastline of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located on the eastern portion of the Yucatán Peninsula. This district historically started at the city of Playa del Carmen and ended at the village of Tulum, although the towns of Puerto Morelos situated to the north and between Playa del Carmen and Cancun as well as the town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto situated 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the south of Tulum are both currently being promoted as part of the Riviera Maya tourist corridor.
What are tides?
Tides are the periodic (occurring at regular intervals) variations in the surface water level of the oceans, bays, gulfs, and inlets. Tides are the result of the gravitational attraction of the sun and the moon on the earth. The attraction of the moon is far greater than the attraction of the sun due to the close proximity of the earth and the moon. The sun is 360 times further from the earth than the moon. Therefore, the moon plays a larger role than the sun in producing tides. Every 27.3 days, the earth and the moon revolve around a common point. This means that the oceans and other water bodies which are affected by the earth-moon system experience a new tidal cycle every 27.3 days.
Because of the physical processes which occur to produce the tidal system, there are two high tides and two low tides each day. Because of the angle of the moon with respect to the earth, the two high tides each day do not have to be of equal height. The same holds true for the two low tides each day. Tides also differ in height on a daily basis. The daily differences between tidal heights is due to the changing distance between the earth and the moon.
Tides, a repeated cycle of sea level changes in the following stages:
• Over several hours the water rises or advances up a beach in the flood
• The water reaches its highest level, called high water.
• The sea level lowers or falls over several hours during the ebb tide.
• The level stops falling at low water.
Tides can be thought of as waves that travel around an oceanic basin. If you draw lines of constant phase (or time at which high tide occurs), they meet at a hub where there is no tide (it’s high- tide all the time, so the water level never changes). This hub is called an amphidromic point. If the basin were perfectly regular, the amphidromic point would be in the centre. The Atlantic is quite irregular. As it turns out, one of these amphidromic points is right on the edge of the Caribbean.
The structure and history of the Caribbean are also not well known, but both the Gulf and the Caribbean are of great geological interest. In this area, it is especially interesting to note the height and change in tide.
To log your cache please do the following: There is no need to wait to log, please post your picture (this is optional) at the cache site with the sea behind you in the background.
Email your answers,
What is the elevation of sea level at the cache site?
What is the normal tide fluctuation here? You may use the posts or steps on the pier to help you.
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(Decrypt)
Rawbl lbhe ivfvg
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