World’s Biggest Tide Hurls 160 Billion Tons of Water Twice a Day (Video)

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World’s Biggest Tide Hurls 160 Billion Tons of Water Twice a Day (Video)

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated May 18, 2026 6:38 PM ET

For surfers, tides can be a crucial factor, one of many – including winds, swell direction, et al – which determine whether or not a wave is good or not at any given time.

And different places have different tidal ranges.

It’s all very heady stuff, science-heavy matters involving the moon, gravity, inertia, and all sorts of features that a layperson may not quite understand. But it’s still interesting. And one place where the tides are so extreme is the Bay of Fundy in Canada.

Above, watch just how drastically the tide changes throughout the day at this Nova Scotia location. According to PBS, who documented the phenomena:

“Where typical ocean tides average about three feet, the Bay of Fundy’s record-setting tides soar over 50. This means 160 billion tons of water rush through the bay twice every day, generating enough potential energy to power a small city. This singular phenomenon could revolutionize our approach to renewable energy, but harnessing the Bay of Fundy’s tidal power is also extremely complicated.”

That means that certain areas can be walkable and dry in the morning, while by the afternoon, they’ll be completely underwater. And the timelapse showing the drastic change in tide is pretty mesmerizing – it’s like a tidal wave just really, really sped up.

“A visual equivalent would be movement of water up a four-story building,” the video narrates.

Per NOAA, they describe the tremendous tides at the Bay of Fundy:

“Located in Canada, between the provinces of Nova Scotia and Brunswick, sits the Bay of Fundy, home to the world largest tidal variations. While the Earth's average tide-driven variation in sea level is three feet, the water level near Wolfville, in Nova Scotia's Minas Basin, can be as much as 53 feet (16 meters) higher than at low tide.

“Tides along the Atlantic coast are basically semi-diurnal, meaning there are two significant high tides every 24 hours. Along the Atlantic side of Nova Scotia, outside of the Bay of Fundy, the tidal range is from four to eight feet (1½-2½meters) and without much variation in the timing of the high and low tides.”

And if you want to nerd out and go deep on tides – yes, pun intended – check out this explainer video from oceanographer Dr. Paige Hoel: