The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-12-30
Queer Franks Played by the Ebb
and Flow of the Ocean.
THE RUSH INTO THE AMAZON,
Three Successive Waves, Each Ten
Feet High. Fling Themselves In .
Roaring Mass Upon the Great River.
The Tides at Panama.


Chepstow. and when there Is a gale
behind n spring tide a rise of nine
teen feet seven inches has been OBJ
served within a single hour. The re-
suit OF this is a bore" a tidal wave
which sweeps Up the wide channel at
more than ten miles an hour and
swallows the bare sands under Wild
tumble Of turbulent waves.
The cause Of the gigantic Severn
tide is interesting. 1t is not entirely
due to the rapid narrowing and shall
lowing OF the Bristol channel. but is
chiefly caused by the fact that two
The crest OF the tide which runs into
the Irish channel meets at the mouth
Of the Bristol channel another wave.
twelve hours older. which has come
round the north Of Ireland. These
two together run up the Severn.
A tide almost equal to that of the
Severn is seen in the bay OF Mount
St. Michael. on the French coast. At
low tide carts drive across from La
Vendee to the Isle Of Noirmoutien; at
high tide big ships sail across the
road.
In stories of adventure one some
times reads Of the tide racing in over
the sands faster than a man can run.
This actually happens in the bay Of
Mount ST. Michael.
At low tide there lies before one a
wide plain of sand 80 square miles in
extent. in the center Of which rises
the huge black mass Of st. Michael's
mount. The tide turns, and one sees it
rushing in edged by line Of white.
A liquid mass estimated at 1.470OOO,-
100000 Of cubic yards comes pouring
into the bay and in n very few hours
covers the whole great plain. The
distance between ebb and flood marks
in the bay Is nearly seven miles.
Centuries ago all this desolate gull
was wide stretch Of fertile land. pro-
tected on the seward side by tall
sand hills. A great tide with heavy
gale behind it burst through the bar
riers and stole 10000 acres OF farm
and pasture.
While the French side Of the Eng
ISL \udHHCl 10 ny III
mense tides. England's side has com
paratively small ones. and from Poole
harbor to the Isle Of Wight the very
peculiar phenomenon of double tides
is seen. These are caused by the in
terruption Of the tidal wave by the
Isle Of Wight.
All over the world we find the tide:
playing the Queerest pranks. At thu
port Of Panama, on the Pacific end O.
the Panama canal, you may watch :
tide Of twenty-three feet rise and fall
Less than forty miles away, at tn
Atlantic end of the big cut. there il
practically no tide at all.
We have spoken OF the bore" in tn
! Severn. Imposing sight as this is, it /
child's play compared with the tida
wave which PUSHES up the enormou
| estuary Of the Amazon.
This rush Of water, which, by tn
way, makes a terrific roaring SOUND
| comes in three successive waves, eac
about ten feet high, and vessels nav
eating the estuary are in as grea
danger as when they are overtaken b
storm in the open sea.
! The Gauges has a dangerous "bore
! at high springs, and the "mascaret
on the river Seine is also a sourc
of peril to small craft.
The force of the currents or race
produced by tides penned in narro'
channels must be seen to be believed
Every one has heard Of the famou
maelstrom off the Norwegian coas
the terrible whirlpool which was SUI
posed to drag down ships and grin
them to pieces against the rocks at tn
bottom. The whirlpool as such doe
not exist. but the tide race betwee
Moskol island and its next neighbc
is almost as dangerous as the revol'
ing eddy OF the fable
The sea here rushes through a roc
walled channel at more than ten mile
an hour. 4 sailing vessel caught !
this race Is perfectly helpless. and
steamer must have uncommonly goo
engines to drive her way through It,
Between Jura and Scarba islands, Q
the west coast Of Scotland. is a It'd:
race which for speed and fury hold
worlds record. The native nam
IVA tIIiS IdNt 2S IL,
orally ''caldron OF the spotted seas
Here the tide runs at no less tina
twelve and a half miles an hour, an
when the wind is over the tide Il
whole strait becomes actually a DO,
ing. foaming caldron. into which r
craft OF any kind could venture wit
out certain disa ster
In December, 1902. an easterly ga
created enormous difficulties for Il
shipping at Hamburg. It took the W
ter right out OF the Elbe. and whe,
, vessels drawing twenty-five feet ha
been accustomed to move easily the
was not water enough to float tho
drawing fifteen feet All the lar:
steamers in the port were strande
and some lay right over on their side
The scene was a most curious al