Just down the road from the sign is Burntcoat Head Park,
the place to go if one wishes to see the
World's Highest Tides. They have even been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. Twice a day 160 billion tons of water flow in and out of the bay which just happens to have the correct size and shape to set up a resonance with the tidal flow, producing much higher than normal tides. At a recording station at Burntcoat Head the tides have been recorded since the 19th century, recording average tides of 55.8 feet. The absolute highest tide of 70.9 feet was set during the
1869 Saxby Gale on October 4, 1869.
The sign is at the little community of Walton. One kilometre northwest is
Walton Lighthouse, the last original lighthouse in Hants County and today a Provincial and Municipal Heritage Site, while 20 kilometres northeast is Burntcoat Head, the site of the
World's Highest Tides. The Walton Lighthouse is open from 8 to 8 daily as a tourist attraction and well worth stopping at. There is a small park surrounding the lighthouse.
The 1975 edition of Guinness Book of World Records (1975) declared that Burntcoat had the highest tides in the world:
“
The Natural World, Greatest Tides: The greatest tides in the world occur in the Bay of Fundy.... Burntcoat Head in the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia, has the greatest mean spring range with 14.5 metres (47.5 feet) and an extreme range of 16.3 metres (53.5 feet).”
From Wiki
Highest tide - average
The greatest tides occur in the Bay of Fundy, which divides the peninsula of Nova Scotia, Canada from the United States' north-easternmost state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Burncoat Head in the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia, has the greatest mean spring range, with 14.5 m (47 ft 6 in).
From Guinness World Records
To see a 30 second video of the rise and fall of the Fundy Tide
click here.
To see the view of the Burntcoat Head tides in real time from a webcam,
click here.
Through the summer guides are available at Burntcoat Head Park to lead ocean floor tours from the park. During low tide one may descend the 50 or so feet from the park and walk well out on the ocean floor, finding tidal pools with crabs, piddocks and mussels waiting for the ocean to return. The cost per person for the 2 to 2.5 hour is $15. Occasionally, tours of the cliffs of Burntcoat Head are available, led by a scientist from Dalhousie University. Check with
The Park for future times and dates.
World’s Highest Recorded Tides
Twice each day the Bay of Fundy fills and empties its 160 billion tons of water creating the highest tides in the world. In 1975 The Guinness Book of World Records listed Burntcoat Head in the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia as the site of the greatest average tide of 47.5 feet with an extreme range of 53.6 feet.
Click here for
tide schedule at Burntcoat Head Park.
From Burntcoat Head Park