Tidal Tales: Myths, mystery and the marvels of the Bay of Fundy
The Fundy’s effect: Its ebb and flow will cause you to slow down, forget about work, and enjoy this cherished natural wonder.
Twice daily, the water level rises and falls by up to fifty feet as over 160 billion tons of seawater flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. While gravity and the Moon are responsible for the flow, myths explained the phenomenon until an apple fell on Isaac Newton and set the record straight.
Homer and the ancient Greeks believed that a deity named Charybdis caused the tides. Zeus had chained her to the ocean floor, and her breathing in and out created them. In Norse culture, the tides fell to Thor after a giant challenged him to a drinking contest. Legend has it that the sea rose and fell daily to mark Thor's chugging. The Northwest Coast First Nations attributed the tides to a Raven. In that story, clams were unreachable on the ocean floor. The Raven flew to the elder woman who held the tides and tricked her into letting go. The tide rushed out, allowing the people to feast on clams. She agreed to release the tides twice a day.
At Fundy’s low tide, Mother Nature reveals her submerged stylings and an ocean floor strewn with treasures. What were once little islands are now trees elevated atop carved sandstone pillars. The cliffs are vast and polished, with exposed rock formations, some of which tell a 300-million-year-old story. At Burntcoat Head Park, an extraordinary fossil record predates the dinosaurs. Fossilized footprints, trees, trilobites, and early reptiles are embedded in stone, but the pools teeming with life are as remarkable as the fossils uncovered. Rock, lady, and hermit crabs inhabit the saltwater pools alongside whelks, snails, periwinkles, and limpets. Seaweeds such as bladderwrack, Irish moss, and sea lettuce create a marine botanical garden that patiently awaits the tides’ return.
Experiencing Canada host Nathan Coleman (left) walking on the ocean floor at Burntcoat Head Park with Denis Thompson, Visitor Experience Guide at Burntcoat Head Park. (Credit: The Weather Network)
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Wet, acidic soil gradually breaks down materials lost at sea. Nonetheless, 100-pound rope balls and other lost nautical items surface at low tide. Archeologists have found ancient stone arrowheads, spear points, quartz knives, and rare World War II munitions. German U-boats arrived in the bay during both World Wars. They weren’t there to pick up Bay of Fundy stickers, t-shirts, and scented candles; their purpose was to sink ships and land spies. On one occasion in 1942, a German operative reached the shore in civilian clothes, armed with a fake ID and a wad of Canadian cash. He didn’t do much spying; instead, he went on an extended vacation in the region before heading to Montreal and Ottawa, where he eventually surrendered when he ran out of cash in 1944. That’s Fundy’s effect. Its ebb and flow will cause you to slow down, forget about work, and enjoy this cherished natural wonder.
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