Where are the largest tides in the world? What causes them to occur there?
The largest tidal ranges in the world occur in the Bay of Fundy (more exactly Minas Basin) and in Ungava Bay (more exactly Leaf Basin) on the East Coast of Canada, where you can observe a 16 metre (53 foot) tide range. Tidal range varies during the month according to phase of the moon. They are largest at the new and full moons, and smallest at the quarter phases. Tidal ranges in the Bay of Fundy and Ungava Bay are the highest in the world because of an unusual combination of resonance (or seiche) and the shape of the bay. The Bay of Fundy and Ungava Bay are “V” shaped, so that water entering at their wide mouth at the open ocean end is funneled into less and less space as it moves into the head of the bays and the water can only pile up and form a large tide. The water in the Bay of Fundy and Ungava Bay also has a natural rocking motion called a seiche. You could compare this to the movement of water in a bathtub. Although the water in a bathtub sloshes from one end to the other and b
