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High Tides
As the moon revolves around the earth, its gravity pulls at the oceans. This raises the water level on the side of the planet that is turned towards the moon. The rigid earth prevents the moon's gravity from pulling on the oceans that are on the far side from the moon as it does the oceans on the near side. Those waters are left behind to form a "bulge" on the far side of the earth, creating an egg shape with a bulge on the side facing the moon and a bulge on the side facing away. This means that the tide will be high in those parts of the world.
Low Tides
When more of the oceans' water is concentrated on the sides of the planet facing toward and away from the moon, the oceans on the sides of the planet at right-angles to the moon have less water. These regions experience low tides.
The Full and New Moon: Spring Tides
The term spring tides does not refer to the season of spring. Spring tides are especially high and low tides that occur during the full moon and the new moon. The gravitational force of the sun contributes to these tides. The sun and moon are pulling together during the full moon and against each other during the new moon, stretching the egg-shaped bulge of the oceans more and raising the tides.
The Moon's Quarter Phases: Neap Tides
Neap tides occur during the moon's quarter phases. When the moon is half full, at the first and third quarters, the sun and moon are pulling at right-angles to each other. This means their forces cancel each other out, and the egg-shaped bulge of the oceans becomes more round. The water of the oceans is more evenly distributed around the planet, so low tides are not as low and high tides are not as high.
The Proxigean Spring Tide
The proxigean spring tide is an unusually high tide. It is a rare phenomenon, occurring no more than once every one and a half years. It happens when the moon is unusually close to the earth, and during a new moon (meaning that the moon is between the sun and the earth).