I woke up early to hit the road on my way to Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick. It was pouring rain with a bit of fog. I still made good time to cross back over the Confederation Bridge. I pulled in to Cape Jourimain Nature Centre on the New Brunswick side of the bridge to snap a few photos of the underside of the bridge arches. The Nature Centre museum, restaurant, and gift shop were closed, but the bathrooms were still open. The bathrooms were very unique. There was no flushing. A fan sucked air downward into the pit where “it” was broken down by earthworms, bacteria, and insects. Disease organisms die and the rich humus is recycled as fertilizer. Urine entering the toilet system is transformed as it moves through the compost pile so that by the time it reaches the removal area it is stable and odourless. Vents allowed carbon dioxide and odours to escape. The sinks used rainwater and not well water. The used water is collected and cleaned then returned to nature.
I carried on to Hopewell Rocks to witness the tide rising in the Bay of Fundy. The average tidal range worldwide is about 1 metre. In the Bay of Fundy, it is 14 metres (46 feet) and will cover a horizontal length of two football fields. Tides can be higher, depending on the position of the sun, moon, and atmospheric conditions. Super moons can cause the tide to rise another metre. 160 billion tons of water move into the bay twice a day. There are about six hours and 13 minutes between each high and low tide. The reason the tides are so much higher here is because of an unusual combination of factors: resonance and the shape of the bay.
The water in the Bay of Fundy has a natural resonance or rocking motion. Compare this with water sloshing from one end of a bathtub to the other. It takes this bathtub 13 hours to rock back and forth. Just as a gentle push can keep a child on a swing going high, the same idea is in place to keep the water sloshing back and forth here. The sun and the moon push and pull thereby gently keeping the rocking motion. Secondly, the bay's shape and bottom topography are factors. The bay becomes narrower and shallower -from 130 metres to 40 metres) toward the upper bay, forcing the water higher up the shores. The tides start rising slowly but speed up until they are about half way in. At their fastest, the tide can rise straight upward at a rate of 4 metres (13 feet) per hour at Hopewell Rocks. Although I did not see it, I was told that the tide can push the rivers backwards and the water can begin to whirl around, as you would see at the drain hole of a sink or bathtub.
I arrived at Hopewell Rocks at 10:00 AM and decided to take the small tram to the entrance to the Rocks, hoping to still make it to the ocean floor before the cut off time. Also, it was only 6 degrees Celsius, with wind and rain. I didn't feel like walking the 15 minutes. According to the sign, I was already a half hour past the cutoff. The guard cautioned me to pay attention to the security people at the bottom and let me pass. I descended the huge staircase on the “DOWN” side. With 225,000 visitors a year, these designated up and down staircases help ease congestion during the busy summer months.
The water was already touching the huge rock formations. It had already risen by 8.5 metres (28 feet).
