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An Explanation of River Tides

Rising and falling river tides occur in places where rivers meet the ocean. These tides are more noticeable where the river is closer to the ocean, and become less prominent further inland. Smaller rivers far from the ocean don't have enough mass to be affected by the gravitational pull of the moon, and so river tides are only present where the ocean meets the river. River tides flow from the ocean toward the land, following the pattern of the river as it travels landward to freshwater areas.
  1. Daily Tides

    • River tides correspond directly with ocean tides. During low tide, water is pulled out to the ocean, which creates lower water levels in rivers and at the ocean's shore. During high tide, the river's water levels increase as ocean water is pushed back in toward the land. Most areas experience about two high tides and two low tides each day. An exception to this is the land near the earth's equator, which experiences hardly any noticeable change in tides at all because the moon's gravitational pull is weak in this area.

    Spring Tide

    • Spring tides are the strongest tides and occur when the earth, moon and sun are in alignment. This alignment is found during full moon and new moon phases each month. During a spring tide, the tidal currents are stronger than normal, which creates more dramatic high and low tides in river mouth areas.

    Neap Tide

    • Neap tides have weaker flows and occur when the sun and moon fall at a 90-degree angle with proximity to the earth. The neap tide occurs during the half moon phases and river tides show less variation between high and low during these times.

    Estuaries

    • Estuaries are locations where freshwater rivers open up to saltwater oceans. Saltwater and freshwater tend to remain in separate layers in these areas, with the lighter freshwater floating atop the denser saltwater. Depending on the season, location of the river and the strength of the tides, rivers may empty quicker into the ocean during low tide forming sandbars, or their levels may only drop slightly, creating shallow areas of water.


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