Tidal ranges at the Arctic and Maritime Coasts

Tidal amplitudes in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans

Over most of the Atlantic coast and the rest of the world, the average difference between water levels at high tide and at low tide - tidal amplitude - is 2 metres. However, there is variation. The continental shelf in Hudson Strait is very shallow and this allows tidal amplitudes to reach around 5-9 metres in this area. The shallow shelf causes the incoming tides to be much higher because the sea floor is higher. The very shallow Ungava Bay in northern Quebec has tidal amplitudes of around 15 metres. Tidal amplitudes along the coastal regions of the Labrador shelf are generally around 3 metres, and as the shelf becomes steeper further down the coast the amplitudes decrease. Off the coast of Newfoundland, where the continental shelf is relatively deep, tidal amplitudes are only about 1 metre. By contrast, in other regions, such as the Bay of Fundy tidal amplitudes are as great as 16 metres.