IMG_9099a
Reversing Falls, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Reversing Falls Rapids
Reversing Falls Skywalk:
Walk 28' past the 110' cliff edge on our stainless steel rooftop observation platform constructed with sections of glass floor.
Witness where 1.2 billion year old Precambrian age marble from South America collided with 515 million year old igneous rock of the Caledonia terrain from Africa.
Twice each day 100 billion tons of water, a volume equal to all of the world’s rivers … enters and exits the Bay of Fundy. At this location water levels rise as much as nine meters or 28 feet in a tidal cycle. Reversing Falls Rapids experiences two tidal cycles daily resulting in 2 low tides and 2 high tides. Each complete cycle is roughly 12 hours and 10 minutes. Between the tidal extremes is a calm period known as “slack tide”, this condition lasts for just 20 minutes and is the only time vessels can safely pass through the gorge.
Why Reversing “Falls” Rapids ? If you could see beneath the water, you would find rocky ledges near the surface stretching from the pulp mill to the Reversing Falls bridge, these create the rapids. Then immediately after the bridge the river bed plunges 61 meters into a massive pool, deep enough to cover the 15 story Saint John City Hall building.
The Reversing Falls Rapids gorge through which the Saint John River flows was created 11,000 years ago. As the ice ages receded water flows increased off the land. The force of moving ice, water and sediment broke a new route to the ocean here.
Interestingly, five thousand years ago, sea level was 100 feet lower in this area. Native people living here at that time enjoyed an impressive waterfall!
Today the Saint John River has a large watershed of 56-thousand-kilometres. The watershed reaches to Maine USA in the west and Quebec to the north, all water passes through the gorge here at the Reversing Falls Rapids!
IMG_9099a
Reversing Falls, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Reversing Falls Rapids
Reversing Falls Skywalk:
Walk 28' past the 110' cliff edge on our stainless steel rooftop observation platform constructed with sections of glass floor.
Witness where 1.2 billion year old Precambrian age marble from South America collided with 515 million year old igneous rock of the Caledonia terrain from Africa.
Twice each day 100 billion tons of water, a volume equal to all of the world’s rivers … enters and exits the Bay of Fundy. At this location water levels rise as much as nine meters or 28 feet in a tidal cycle. Reversing Falls Rapids experiences two tidal cycles daily resulting in 2 low tides and 2 high tides. Each complete cycle is roughly 12 hours and 10 minutes. Between the tidal extremes is a calm period known as “slack tide”, this condition lasts for just 20 minutes and is the only time vessels can safely pass through the gorge.
Why Reversing “Falls” Rapids ? If you could see beneath the water, you would find rocky ledges near the surface stretching from the pulp mill to the Reversing Falls bridge, these create the rapids. Then immediately after the bridge the river bed plunges 61 meters into a massive pool, deep enough to cover the 15 story Saint John City Hall building.
The Reversing Falls Rapids gorge through which the Saint John River flows was created 11,000 years ago. As the ice ages receded water flows increased off the land. The force of moving ice, water and sediment broke a new route to the ocean here.
Interestingly, five thousand years ago, sea level was 100 feet lower in this area. Native people living here at that time enjoyed an impressive waterfall!
Today the Saint John River has a large watershed of 56-thousand-kilometres. The watershed reaches to Maine USA in the west and Quebec to the north, all water passes through the gorge here at the Reversing Falls Rapids!