Had to be videos today – nothing else captures the power of these two sites on the St John river in New Brunswick, nearly 400km apart.
Our host at the B&B in St John told us to be at the Reversing Falls at high or low tide, so we arrived at exactly 0919 and this is what we saw.
This is a fascinating natural phenomenon where the powerful tidal forces of the Bay of Fundy — home to the highest tides in the world — clash dramatically with the outflow of the Saint John River. At low tide, when we visited, the river rushes down through a narrow rocky gorge and empties into the bay in the normal fashion, creating visible rapids. But as the massive Bay of Fundy tide comes in, the rising seawater eventually overpowers the river current, and the flow appears to reverse direction, pushing saltwater back upstream into the river. At high tide, the process reverses and the water goes the other way. The effect is not a true waterfall in the conventional sense but rather a series of powerful rapids, whirlpools, and surging currents that shift direction roughly four times a day with the tidal cycle. It is one of Saint John’s most popular natural attractions and a striking illustration of just how immense the tidal range of the Bay of Fundy truly is.
Our journey continued about 400km up the road to Grand Falls, a convenient halfway spot between St John and Quebec… but home to more powerful displays of nature’s energy. Here, the falls are truly grand!
