Monday, October 2, 2017

Fraser River Tides

In our nightly dog walks along the dyke that separates Richmond from the flooding by the Fraser River, we've noted a particular marker that helps us figure out just how low or high the tide is. Here's High tide, looking vaguely northwest from a particular point on the dyke:


And here is a photo taken from nearby, but looking northeast at a low tide:


That stump goes from almost submerged to full exposed, and if you look closely you can see the water's edge way out beyond.

This is a closeup of that stump:



I think it's somewhere between 4 and 6 feet tall (I haven't clambered down there to get a better estimate) and as you can see the tide goes well out beyond it at times. A particular tide tracking website tells me that the maximum tidal swing here is 5.06 meters (or 16.6 feet), and it's pretty impressive. Those photos are not taken at those absolute maximum swings, though, just a couple of times when we've noted it's been particularly high and low.

When the big one hits at high tide, Much of Richmond will have a foot or two of water in their homes, including the house we are renting. That's assuming the ground doesn't liquefy and all the houses come down, which is what I actually expect to happen.