Article
Article
Tidal bore
Article By:
Kinsman, Blair Marine Science Research Center, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York.
Last reviewed:December 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.696600
A part of a tidal rise in a river which is so rapid that water advances as a wall often several feet high. The phenomenon is favored by a substantial tidal range and a channel which shoals and narrows rapidly upstream, but the conditions are so critical that it is not common. A shoaling channel steepens the tidal curve. If the curve becomes vertical or nearly so, a bore results (Fig. 1). A narrowing channel increases the tidal range. Since the tidal range is greatest at spring tides, some rivers exhibit bores only then. Although the bore is a very striking feature, Fig. 1 shows that the tide continues to rise after the passage of the bore and that this subsequent rise may be greater. Bores may be eliminated by changing channel depth or shape. See also: River tides; Tide
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