Tidal range

The tidal range is the difference in height between high tide and the following low tide. This term is also used to designate other variations of the water level in bodies of water and watercourses.

From an oceanographic perspective, the tidal range varies over time and space depending on several parameters. The most important parameters are the sun, the moon and geography (the ocean basin).

The most important temporal variation is the cycle of spring tides, when the tidal range is the highest, and neap tides, when the tidal range is the lowest.

On a local level, the physical structure of oceanic basins can slow down (Mediterranean) and even suppress (amphidromic point) the spread of tide waves, creating a very small tidal range. Inversely, tide waves can grow and reach 10 to 14 meters in the Bays of Mont-Saint-Michel or Fundy (Canada).

The daily and variable oscillation of sea water levels creates specific coastal habitats. These ecological habitats form the foreshore ecosystem.