Bore Tides

The Turnagain Arm, south of Anchorage, is an interesting place.  It has one of the world's highest tides (at 33 feet), it has amazing mud flats with quicksand, and birds, beluga whales, and other creatures are seen with frequency.  And if the timing is right, a person might get to see a bore tide.

Bore tides occur when water coming in for high tide meets water going out at low tide.  It can create a wall of water 6 feet high coming into the arm.  We had known about the tide but had never seen it.  We pulled over to the side of the road to eat lunch, and I looked up the time for the low tide.  Our book said to add 2 hours and 15 minutes to the time of the low tide and that would be when the bore tide occurred.  I checked the time of the tide, added the 2 hours and 15 minutes . . . and bingo.  It was exactly the right time.  Sure enough, we looked outside, and although the wall of water was not 6 feet high, it was very obvious that the water was pushing against itself, creating an interesting phenomenon. Now that we know what to look for, we will try to time our return trip so that perhaps we can see it better on a less windy day.