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Issue (Archive) Saint John is a city surrounded by cliffs and water. The surging colossal tides of the Bay of Fundy create an outstanding salt water harbour. Just around the corner fresh water gathered along the route of the St. John River flows towards the sea. Twice daily, millions of gallons of water flowing inward and outward from these two bodies of water swirl and clash as they battle for supremacy in the wondrous phenomenon known as the Reversing Falls.
Several natural features come together to form the Falls - the narrowing of the St. John River, the shape of the gorge and an underwater ledge are all part of the creation. However, the most important element is the head on collision of two mighty bodies of water - the Bay of Fundy and the St. John River. The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. One hundred billion tons of water cascade through the mouth of the Bay from the Atlantic Ocean every 12 hours. This volume is double the daily flow of all the rivers of the world. The St. John River begins in a wilderness region in northern Maine. From there to its outlet in the Bay of Fundy, the river winds south - a distance of 450 miles. The Micmac and Maliseet Indians of this area explained the Reversing Falls in a legend about their great god Glooscap. Glooscap was the keeper of life in what is now New Brunswick. All life with one exception, the beaver, accepted Glooscap's supremacy. One day, the animals ran to Glooscap exclaiming, "Come quickly. Beaver has built a dam across the mouth of the river and the water is spreading over the land."
The first recorded reference to the phenomenon of the Reversing Falls by a European was made about 1525 by Esteban Gomez, a Portuguese seaman. He called the waterway, "Rio de La Buelta", the river that goes to and fro. On average, 10 million gallons of water per minute pour through a 330-foot opening stretching from one side of the river to the other. It tumbles through at up to 25 or 30 knots. At high tide, the water from the bay becomes higher than the river level and - slowly at first - the river begins to flow upstream. As the bay tides continue to rise, the reverse flow gradually increases and the rapids begin to form, reaching their peak at high tide. At this point, the tidal waters of the bay are actually 14 1/2 feet higher than the river.
As the cycle continues the Bay begins to drop. Then the full flow of the St. John River thunders through the narrow gorge. An underwater ledge, 36 feet below the surface, causes the water in the river to tumble downwards into a 175 - 200 feet deep pool. At this point, the river waters are actually 14 1/2 feet higher than the bay waters. The phenomenon known as slack tide, when the two currents are levelling, lasts for about one hour. Dead slack tide, where there is no apparent current, lasts for about 10 minutes.
When Esteban
Gomez sailed up the Bay of Fundy and into our harbour, it was about
three times the size it is now. Forests came down to the water's
edge and rocky cliffs ringed its shores. To accommodate the human
population, the terrain has been altered, but through everything
- fires, flood and storms of all kinds - the Reversing Falls has
remained a constant. As it did in the time of Glooscap, the waters
of the St. John River rush down to meet the giant tides of the Bay
of Fundy and the twice-daily battle goes on.
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Glooscap
picked up his giant club and hurried to the mouth of the river.
In his rage, he smashed the dam; parts of it remain as the islands
that are still there. The force of his blow caused the water to
swirl and race. Glooscap announced he would leave it that way so
Beaver could not build another dam. The Indians begged Glooscap
to change his mind. Finally, he agreed to calm the waters for 20
minutes every six hours, which is why we have slack tide.
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