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Reversing Falls
A River Runs Through It

Saint John is a city surrounded by cliffs and water. No where else is there a seaport like it where the surging colossal tides of the Bay of Fundy create an outstanding salt water harbour and 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 in the wondrous phenomenon known as the Reversing Falls where they battle for supremacy.

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 12.4 hours. This is equal in volume to the 24 hour out-flow of all the rivers of the world.

The St. John River begins in a wilderness region in northern Maine. From this source to its outlet in the Bay of Fundy, the river wends its way southwards a distance of four hundred and fifty miles.

The formation of several natural features - the narrowing of the St. John River, the shape of the gorge and an underwater ledge are all part of the creation, helped to create this phenomenon. However, the most important elements are the head-on collision of two mighty bodies of water - The Bay of Fundy and the St. John River.

The Micmac and Maliseet Indians of this area explained the Reversing Falls in a legend about their great god - Glooscap. Glooscap looked after all life in what is now New Brunswick. He was the keeper of the animals and of man. Most of the animals accepted Glooscap's supremacy but the beaver did not. One day, the animals ran to Glooscap exclaiming, "Oh, Glooscap, Glooscap, come quickly. Beaver has built a dam across the mouth of the river and the water is spreading over the land."

Glooscap picked up his giant club and in four steps was at the mouth of the river. In his rage, he smashed the dam and the remains are the islands which are still there. The force of his blow caused the water to swirl and the Indians were very upset when Glooscap announced he would leave it that way so beaver could not build another dam. How would they get through? They begged Glooscap to change his mind. He thought about it and agreed to calm the waters for 20 minutes every 6 hours which is why we have slack tide.

When Glooscap hit the dam with great force, he broke off the tip of his club which flew over the land and fell into the water at the mouth of the Harbour. There it still sits and today we call it Partridge Island.

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 River St. John, Rio de La Buelta, meaning river that goes to and fro.

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. The effect of the reversal is felt upstream as far as Fredericton more than 80 miles inland.

The fast moving currents together with the continual mingling of the salt water from the Bay and the fresh water from the river confuse the fish trying to go upstream to spawn or to return to the Ocean. Some of the fish found in the waters of the Reversing Falls are: herring, pollock, gaspereau, salmon, trout and bass.

The larger fish force the smaller fish close to the waters surface providing an abundant feeding ground for the cormorants. Harbour seals feed on the larger fish deeper in the water.

After high tide the bay tides begin to fall and the upstream flow into the river gradually lowers until the height of the bay tide equals the level of the river. This short period of calm is called High Slack Tide.

Dead slack tide, where there is no apparent current movement, lasts for about 10 minutes. The phenomena known as slack tide, however, lasts for about one hour.

As the bay continues to drop until it reaches low tide, the St. John River empties into the bay and the full flow of the 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, below the Mill and under the bridge.

At this point, the river waters are actually 14 1/2 feet higher than the bay tides.
The Reversing Falls section of the river's outlet is a little over a half mile in length.

On an average 10 million gallons of water per minute pour through a 330 foot opening stretching from the pulp mill to the other side. It races through at 25 to 30 knots.

As the bay tides begin to rise, they slow the course of the river and finally stop the river's flow completely, resulting in another period of calm called Low Slack Tide.

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, alterations to the terrain are a common factor 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. However, changes are beginning to take place, landfill is encroaching on the river's edge but, hopefully, the tumultuous waters of the Falls will continue to fascinate people for a very long time.

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