Tides

Not being a man of the sea (or beach, lake, river, etc.) I find myself fascinated with the pattern of the tides here at Hilton Head. Especially since we’re overlooking the Shelter Cove / Broad Creek section of the Hilton Head sound, just slightly south of the island’s center of gravity. Twice a day the tides come in and out, and it’s so drastic I had to snap some pics:

High tide

Low tide

  

What a dramatic difference in the landscape beyond my window! I asked the in-laws what the height differential was in the tides down here. I vaguely recall reading somewhere in the beginning of Atkinson’s The Guns at Last Light that tides on Normandy beach in June of 1944 differed by 24 feet, so I was trying to visualize how that might compare to the island. They guesstimated a couple of feet. Curiosity not sated, I searched a couple of websites until I found what I think the answer is, here. If I’m reading this correctly, the tidal differential is 6.9 feet.

And all due to the difference in the gravitational tug on the near and far side of earth by the moon.

Interesting, no?

N.B.

Here’s a neat little pdf map of the island. It really does look like a sneaker!