1. Tidal Bore and Pre-Eclipse Dinner
   1. Introduction
   2. Slides
   3. Video

Introduction

A tidal bore is a place where the rising tide causes so much water to enter the opening of a river that a wave forms. This requires a large estuary that constricts to a much narrower river and/or very fast and high rising tides on the ocean.  This Wikipedia article describes the process in detail.  I have seen similar phenomena in the past including the Reversing Falls in St John New Brunswick and in British Columbia, but these were more like waterfalls that formed and dissolved based on the tides.

Hangchow Bay which is the estuary of the Qiantang River is a nearly funnel shape.  We viewed the bore from Yanguan which is in the narrower river channel. As the water from high tide enters the bay it reverses the flow in the river faster than the water can enter the river.  Unlike the two Canadian sites I visited the water came roaring in as something that looked like a small tidal wave.


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Click on any of the pictures to view the slide show