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The Bay of Fundy is a bay located on the Atlantic coast of Canada, on the north end of the Gulf of Maine between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The name "Fundy" is thought to date back to the 16th century when the Portuguese referred to the bay as "Rio Fondo" or "deep river".
The bay was also named Baie François by explorer/cartographer Samuel de Champlain during a 1604 expedition led by Pierre Dugua Sieur de Monts which resulted in a settlement on St. Croix Island.
Folklore in the Mi'kmaq Nation claims that the tides are caused by a giant whale splashing in the water. Oceanographers attribute it to tidal resonance resulting from a coincidence of timing: the time it takes a large wave to go from the mouth of the bay to the opposite end and back is the same as the time from one high tide to the next.
The Bay of Fundy is famously known for its high tides. The quest for world tidal dominance has also led to a pseudo-rivalry between the Minas Basin in the Bay of Fundy and the Leaf Basin in Ungava Bay (located in Nunavik - Arctic Quebec) over which lays claim to the highest tides in the world, with supporters in each region claiming the record.
The Canadian Hydrographic Service finally declared it a statistical tie, with measurements of a 16.8 metre tidal range in Leaf Basin for Ungava Bay and 17 metres at tidal harnesses for electrical power generation have been put forward in recent decades. Such proposals have mainly involved building barrages which effectively dam off a smaller arm of the bay and extract power from water flow through them.
One such facility exists, a dam and 18 megawatt generating station on the Annapolis River at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, but larger proposals have been held back by a number of factors, including environmental concerns.
Damming a large arm of the Bay of Fundy would have significant and not well-understood effects both within the dammed bay itself and in the surrounding regions. Intertidal habitats would be drastically affected and a facility would bring the bay closer to resonance, increasing tidal range over a very large area. One effect could be an increase in tidal range of 0.2 m (from approximately 1 m) for certain coastal sites in Maine, possibly leading to flooding.
The upper part of the bay bifurcates, splitting into Chignecto Bay in the northeast and the Minas Basin in the east. Chignecto Bay is further subdivided into Cumberland Basin and Shepody Bay and the extreme eastern portion of Minas Basin is called Cobequid Bay.
Cape Chignecto, Nova Scotia defines Chignecto Bay whereas Passamaquoddy Bay and Back Bay on the New Brunswick shore, and the Annapolis Basin on the Nova Scotia shore.
The bay is home to several islands, the largest of which is Grand Manan Island at the boundary with the Gulf of Maine. Other important islands include Campobello Island, Moose Island, and Deer Island in Passamaquoddy Bay and Isle Haut in the upper bay off St. Croix River
Nova Scotia
The bay's extreme tidal range causes several interesting phenomena in the various rivers which empty into it.
The Saint John River sees its flow reversed at high tide, causing a series of rapids at the famous Reversing Falls where the river empties into the bay, located in a gorge in the middle of the city of Saint John.
Rivers in the upper Bay of Fundy have a smaller flow-rate than the Saint John, and a shallower slope. As a result, extensive mud flats are deposited throughout the tidal range of the rivers.
Another phenomenon which occurs in these rivers of the upper bay is a "tidal bore", whereby the river flow is completely reversed by the rising tide. One of the better examples of a tidal bore can be seen on the Shubenacadie River near the town of Truro where local ecotourism operators offer the chance to experience rafting the bore upriver. Another good example of a tidal bore may be viewed on the Salmon River in the town of Truro. The once-famous tidal bores on the Petitcodiac and Avon rivers have been severely disrupted as a result of causeway construction in the 1960s-1970s which have caused excessive siltation.
The largest population centres on the bay are the New Brunswick cities of Saint John and Moncton.
The New Brunswick towns of St. Andrews, Blacks Harbour, and Sackville as well as the Nova Scotia towns of Amherst, Truro, Windsor, Wolfville, Kentville, Annapolis Royal, and Digby are also located on the bay.
The Bay of Fundy comprises a tremendously abundant marine ecosystem. Its cold waters contribute to large quantities of krill and other small animals which in turn attract whales such as the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale as well as Humpbacks, Minkes and other cetaceans.
Migratory birds also use the bay as a stopping point, or as a breeding ground. In August of each year, the migration of millions of sand pipers on the mud flats of Shepody Bay delight thousands of naturalists. Peregrine Falcons and Bald Eagles also make their habitat in the high cliffs which surround the bay. Various sea birds such as the Atlantic Puffin, Common Tern, and others can be found.
The bay supports a successful commercial fishery for lobster, scallops, sea urchins, and herring. Commercial aquaculture operations raise Atlantic Salmon, largely in Passamaquoddy and Back bays.
The port of Saint John is one of the busiest ports in North America, owing to its concentration of pulp and paper industry and the largest oil refinery in Canada. Hantsport, Nova Scotia on the Avon River is also home to a pulp and paper mill and is the shipment point for raw gypsum exports to the United States. The ports of Bayside, New Brunswick (near St. Andrews) and Eastport, Maine are important local ports.
A result of heavy shipping traffic has been the potential for increased collisions between ships and the North Atlantic Right Whale. In 2003 the Canadian Coast Guard adjusted shipping lanes crossing prime whale feeding areas at the entrance to the Bay of Fundy to lessen the risk of collision.
The bay is also traversed by a passenger and automobile ferry operated by Bay Ferries between Saint John, New Brunswick and Digby, Nova Scotia.
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