Bore Tide

Bore Tide Picture

We decided to go see the Bore Tide this evening. We had drinks and apps with friends at one our favorite places—Simons and Seafort’s. Their stuffed halibut is the best!

Then Paul a friend of his from the Nursing Program and I headed south on the Seward Highway to go watch the Bore Tide.

What is the Bore Tide

The bore tide is a rush of seawater that returns to a shallow and narrowing inlet from a broad bay. Bore tides come in after extreme minus low tides created by the full or new moon.
Bore tides occur all over the world—there are around 60 of them—but only a few are large enough to make a name for themselves. One in China, for example, stretches almost 30 feet tall and travels more than 20 miles per hour. Alaska’s most famous bore tide occurs in Turnagain Arm, just outside Anchorage. It climbs up to 6 – 10 feet tall and can reach speeds of 10 to 15 miles per hour. It takes not just a low tide but also about a 27-foot tidal differential (between high and low tide) for a bore to form in Turnagain Arm.

We did not bring our camera so I had to find a picture online of the tide line. That is basically what it is a white line across the inlet. Not that exciting but interesting. In fact it would have been great just to watch it but it was CHILLY and the wind was blowing SO hard. I ended up at the Dr’s for ear drops (for some reason my ears are highly sensitive to wind) a few days later.

I think that seeing the tide from Gull Rock where we hiked on the 4th of July on the opposite side of the inlet would have been really cool as the wave on that side was over 6 ft. On the side we were on it was just a wave. The bore tide was a bit of a bore.