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An elderly woman walks along a beach as a light drizzle slowly approaches across the water.
What this picture does not show is the 100-step staircase this woman had to scale to reach the beach.
Why the staircase? This "beach" is actually the bottom of the ocean; normally the ocean would extend roughly 40 feet above this woman's head. The beach is at Hopewell Rocks, in New Brunswick, Canada. The eastern shore of New Brunswick is bordered by the Bay of Fundy, which is known for having the most drastic tide changes in the world. Twice a day the tides change here, leaving the height of a four story building in their wake.
Ocean tides are controlled through the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. The moon's pull is twice as strong as the sun's because it is closer to the earth, even though the sun has a gravitational force 180 times larger, according to information from the Hopewell Rocks Visitor Center. The gravitational pull from the moon causes inertia to draw the water toward whichever side of the Earth the moon is closest to, which causes high tide. The opposite side of the Earth also experiences this same inertia but at a lesser amount. Low tides are the result of when these two high tides occur on opposite sides of the planet.
Native American lore tells of a disagreement about a dam between the beaver and the whale. The whale was annoyed by the dam's location and tried to break the dam apart with its fin causing a great sloshing of the bay, which was believed to be the creation of the tide.
Hopewell Rocks is one of the most unique areas within the Bay of Fundy to watch the tidal changes. Large rock outcroppings have been worn away, which makes them thinner on the bottom; they are often compared to flower pots or mushrooms.
The dramatic tidal changes at the Bay of Fundy leave a great expanse of wet, muddy ocean floor exposed every few hours. After the tide goes out, rocks, shells, seaweed and other sea treasures can be seen that make up the unique ecosystem created from the changing water levels. People of all ages and walks of life, such as this woman, visit these beaches to get a firsthand glimpse of the ocean's bottom.
