Milford chronicle., 1911-01-06
TIDES THAT RACE
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 a
Roaring Mass Upon the Great River
The Tides at Panama.

The highest ocean tide in the world
IS in the bay of Fundy. where it has
been known to rise eighty odd feet.
The second highest tide is found at
the mouth Of the English river the
Severn.
The top of the Severn tide IS at
Chepstow, and when there is a gale
behind a 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. II is not entirely
due to the rapid narrowing and shall
lowing Of the Bristol channel, but IS
chiefly caused by the fact that two
tides enter the Severn simultaneously.
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 Noirmouden: 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 $50 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 a line of white
A liquid mass estimated a. /. 100000
100000 of cubic yards comes pouring
into the bay and in very faw hours
covers the whole great plain The
distance between ebb and food marks
in the bay is nearly seven miles.
Centuries ago all this desolate gulf
was wide stretch of fertile land, pro
tected on the seaward side by tall
sand hills. A great tide with a heavy
gale behind it burst through the bar
rieTs ana stole 10000 acres of farm
and pasture.
While the French side of the Eng
lish channel is daily visited by i'm
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 tides
playing the queerest pranks. At the
port of Panama. on the Pacific end Of .
the Panama canal, you may watch a ,
tide Of twenty-three feet rise and fall
Less than forty miles away, at the
Atlantic end of the big cut. there is :
practically no tide at all.
We have spoken of the bore" in the
Severn. Imposing sight as this is, it is a
child's play compared with the tidal
wave which rushes up the enormous
estuary of the Amazon
This rush of wafer which, by the
way, makes a terrific roaring sound '
comes in three successive waves, each '
about ten feet high. and vessels navi-
eating the estuary are in as great q
danger as when they are overtaken by {
storm in the open sea-
The Ganges has a dangerous bore" d
At high springs. and the "mascaret" {
On the river Seine is also a source a
If peril to small craft v
The force Of the currents or races Il
by tides penned in narrow &
channels must be seen to be believed. Il
Every one has heard Of the famous C
naelstrOm off the Norwegian coast o
he terrible whirlpool which was sup q
losed to drag down ships and grind W
hem to pieces against the rocks at the Il
,ottom The whirlpool as such does b
lot exist. but the tide race between a
Ioskol island and its next neighbor cl
s almost as dangerous as the revolv- Of
nc eddy Of the fable ol
The sea here rushes through a rock q
vailed channel at more than ten miles al
n hour. \ sailing vessel caught in II
his race is perfectly helpless, and a la
teamer must have uncOmmonly good rt
ngines to drive her way through It.
Between Jura and Scarba islands. on D
he west coast Of Scotland IS a tidal
ace which for speed and fury holds s;
worlds record The native name in
or this race is Coirebhreacain. lit Il.
rally "caldron Of the spotted seas" v,
Iere the tide runs at no less than b,
welve and a half miles an hour, and o
-hen the wind is over the tide the te
hole strait becomes actually a boil nj
lg foaming caldron. into which no pr
raft Of any kind could venture with dl
ut certain disaster in
In December. 1902 an easterly gale ii,
reated enormous difficulties for the w
hipping at Hamburg It took the wa th
II right out Of the Elbe. and where ri
essels drawing twenty-five feet had da
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