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Province of New Brunswick
Part of the Teaching & Learning About Canada Website
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Province of New Brunswick
Part of the Teaching & Learning About Canada Website
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Highest Tides
A long-simmering feud between Arctic Quebec and the Maritimes over who has the world's highest ocean tides has been settled by federal scientists, but neither side is happy with the outcome. ( map from Parks Canada)
Authorities at the Canadian Hydrographic Service, the agency responsible for mapping domestic waterways, have declared a tie between the famous tides of the Bay of Fundy and those of Ungava Bay on the northern coast of Quebec.
... the world's largest tides, "with a range from low to high tide that can exceed 16 metres at the head of the bay," has been wiped out after scientists determined it was in a tidal tie with Leaf Basin in the southwest corner of Ungava Bay.
They say the highest tides in Leaf Basin are 16.8 metres. The latest high tide data from Burntcoat Head, N.S., on the shore of the Minas Basin shows 17-metre tides.
The very highest tides only occur in each location once every 18 years, so these numbers are projected estimates using annual high tide averages. Because the projected difference between Ungava Bay and the Bay of Fundy is only 20 centimetres, it is a tie.
BAY OF FUNDY:
- Measurements at Minas Basin, N.S., were taken at Burntcoat Head, Latitude 45.18ƒN, Longtitude 63.45ƒW.
- Minas Basin is the broadest part of the southeast head of the Bay of Fundy. At its widest, it is 30 kilometres.
- A pressure tide gauge was submerged at one stage for 311 days to record the tides.
- Minas Basin was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records with the highest recorded tide at 16 metres.
- Mi'kmaq folklore suggests the high tides in the Bay of Fundy are caused by a mighty whale splashing its tail in water.
UNGAVA BAY:
- Measurements at Ungava Bay, Nunavik, were taken at Leaf Basin, Latitude 58.44ƒN, Longitude 69.50ƒW.
- Ungava Bay is an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean and is about 320 kilometres long and 257 km wide at its mouth.
- A pressure tide gauge was submerged for 200 days to record the tides.
- A group from Leaf Lake wrote to the Guinness Book of World Records claiming their tide reached 16.76 metres but the record was disputed and never entered.
- The Inuit of Ungava (the word means "toward the open water") have a legend that whales came from the fingers of the goddess Sedna.
See:
The 6th longest place name in Canada-
Lower North Branch Little Southwest Miramichi River
New Brunswick
click for Maritimes map
click for NB map
Relief Map
© 2000, 2002 Government of Canada with permission from Natural Resources Canada.
For more information, see Graphs and Tables based on Canadian Statistics
How New Brunswick and Fredericton got their names
NEW BRUNSWICKOriginally the territory included in modern New Brunswick was part of Nova Scotia. The American Revolution from 1775 to 1783 resulted in a large influx of Loyalist settlers, and agitation arose for the creation of a new province. On September 10, 1784, the partition took place and the "name was chosen as a compliment to King George III (1760-1820) who was descended from the House of Brunswick. |
FREDERICTONAssigned by order-in-council, February 22, 1785 - "a town at St. Anne's Point, on the River Saint John, to be called Fredericktown after His Royal Highness Prince Frederick, Bishop of Osnaburg". The "k" and "w" were dropped shortly thereafter. |
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NEW BRUNSWICK
Campbellton Co 48° 0' N 66° 40' W
Chatham AP 47° 1' N 65° 27' W
Edmundston Co 47° 22' N 68° 20' W
Fredericton AP (S) 45° 52' N 66° 32' W
Moncton AP (S) 46° 7' N 64° 41' W
Saint John AP 45° 19' N 65° 53' W
