Nataly Ulloa

Astronomy 001
Mr. Santana
9/10/21
Tides

Tides are the fall and rise of sea levels that are caused by gravitational forces. Tides are

also like big waves in the ocean. Gravity’s attraction from the sun and moon into earth’s oceans.

When there are high tides the moon’s gravity pulls oceans toward the moon. During low tides the

earth is pulled toward the moon which creates high tides on the other side of the planet. The

distance between Earth and Moon depends on the gravitational pull that is going to be from the

Moon. For example, the side farthest from the Moon doesn’t feel the tide as much but the side

closest from the Moon senses the gravitational pull more. When these tides occur it causes the

ocean to bulge towards the Moon. This creates a strong and high tide. Earth can also bulge

towards the Moon and that creates another high tide. When this occurs it causes there to be a

bulge in the ocean from Earth.

The structure of the bay of Fundy plays a big role in these high tides. When there is a

high tide the bay becomes very narrow and shallow towards the top. That causes the water to

overflow onto shores. Tidal resonance is the occurrence of the time it takes for the water to sway

back and forth in this region. The time between these two high tides is about 12 hours and 30

minutes. These tides support the water in this region. Tides are so extreme in the Bay of Fundy

because of the resonance modes and the shape of the bay. 14 meters of water flows from a high

tide to a low tide on the Bay of Fundy.