Most people probably don’t know what a tidal bore it; but after visiting the Moncton area, you can be sure they’ll have been impressed with seeing these incredibly high tides. A tidal bore (bore = crest or wave) is a natural phenomenon which is seen in a very few parts of the world.

The Bay of Fundy is particularly noted for its extremely high tides, the highest in the world, and for its tidal bores. Twice in 24 hours, the Petitcodiac River empties and fills. The higher waters in the Bay cause the water in the placid Petitcodiac River to roll back upstream in one wave, which can range in height from 3 to 60 cm.

Make sure you watch the dramatic change of the river itself! At low tide the muddy river bottom is often visible, but within an hour of the arrival of the Bore, the water level rises some 7.5 meters (25 ft) to fill the river to its banks!

The size of the tidal bore began to decrease from its once massive waves, after a one-kilometer-long causeway was built in 1968. The Tidal Bore can be seen from many points in the Greater Moncton area, one of the best being Tidal Bore Park, where a clock displays the time of the next bore.