Reversing Falls

For a similar feature in Pembroke, Maine, see Reversing Falls Park.

A view of the Reversing Falls.

The Reversing Falls are a series of rapids on the Saint John River located in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, where the river runs through a narrow gorge before emptying into the Bay of Fundy.

The semidiurnal tides of the bay force the flow of water to reverse against the prevailing current at this location when the tide is high, although in the spring freshet, this is frequently surpassed by the downstream volume of water. The rapids, or "falls", are created by a series of underwater ledges which roil the water in either direction, causing a significant navigation hazard, despite the depth of water.^[1] As a result, vessels wishing to enter or exit from the river must wait for slack tide.

The Reversing Falls has also been an important industrial site for over a century. The Canadian Pacific Railway constructed the Reversing Falls Railway Bridge in 1885^[2] and this structure was replaced in 1922;^[3] it is currently used by the New Brunswick Southern Railway. The railway bridge crosses the gorge immediately downstream from the falls, parallel to the Reversing Falls Road Bridge.

The location of the falls was the site of a foundry and other light industrial operations on the east side of the gorge, while a large pulp mill on the west side. J.D. Irving, the company which has operated the pulp mill since purchasing it in the late 1940s, has encountered some criticism in recent decades for maintaining the facility at what is viewed as one of Saint John's prime tourism locations. This criticism became most pronounced during the 1980s and 1990s when the city government created Fallsview Park on the former industrial foundry lands on the east side of the gorge. The Falls were even given the dubious distinction by one publication as being among the worst tourist attractions in the world.^[4]

During the late 1990s a tourist business was established, offering jet boat rides on the river in the vicinity of the falls; however the boats do not operate in the roughest areas which experience a 3-metre (9.8 ft) drop in water level over a very short distance. The operators tend to stay in the choppy waters immediately downstream and attempt to soak passengers by driving through small whirlpools at the base of the railway bridge. Another more recent development at the Reversing Falls has been its growing use as a whitewater kayaking location, made unique by the changes in formation of the rapids during incoming or outgoing tides.^[5] Coordinates: 45°15′37″N 66°05′24″W / 45.26028°N 66.09000°W / 45.26028; -66.09000

The falls flowing inbound.
The falls slack, 38 minutes after the previous picture was taken.
The falls flowing outbound, 15 minutes later after the slack picture was taken and 53 minutes after the first of the series was taken.

References

↑ "Reversing Falls, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada". Retrieved 2008-09-27.
↑ "Structurae - Reversing Falls Railway Bridge (1885)". Retrieved 2008-09-27.
↑ "Structurae - Saint John Bridge (1922)". Retrieved 2008-09-27.
↑ Bruce Felton and Mark Fowler, Felton & Fowler's Best, Worst, and Most Unusual, Random House, 1985, p. 270
↑ "Thrills and Chills". Saint John New Brunswick. Retrieved May 30, 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reversing Falls.

"GeoNames Query - Reversing Falls: Query Record Details". Natural Resources Canada. Government of Canada. 2008-11-09. Retrieved 2008-11-09.

Saint John River Watershed

Tributaries	Allagash River Aroostook River Baker Branch Saint John River Becaguimec Stream Big Black River Birch River Blackwater River Campbell Branch Little Black River River De Chute Daaquam River Fish River Hammond River Jemseg River Kennebecasis River Keswick River Little Black River Little Machias River Little Madawaska River Little River Little Saint Roch River Little Southwest Branch Saint John River Machias River Madawaska River Meduxnekeag River Musquacook Stream Nashwaak River Nerepis River North Branch Birch River North Branch Blackwater River North Branch Meduxnekeag River Northwest Branch Saint John River Oromocto River Red River Saint Croix Stream Saint Francis River Shields Branch South Branch Birch River South Branch Blackwater River South Branch Machias River South Branch Meduxnekeag River Southwest Branch Saint John River Tobique River West Branch Little Black River

Lakes	Baker Lake Beau Lake Chemquasabamticook Lake Churchill Lake Clear Lake Cross Lake Eagle Lake (Allagash R.) Eagle Lake (Fish R.) Fish River Lake Glazier Lake Grand Lake Long Lake Mactaquac Lake Millinocket Lake Mud Lake Munsungan Lake Musquacook Lakes Lake Pohenegamook Portage Lake Saint Froid Lake Saint John Ponds Scopan Lake Square Lake Umsaskis Lake

Towns	Allagash Ashland Blaine Bridgewater Caribou Eagle Lake Easton Edmundston Florenceville-Bristol Fort Fairfield Fort Kent Fredericton Frenchville Grand Bay–Westfield Grand Falls Grand Isle Hampton Hartland Hodgdon Houlton Lac-Frontière Limestone Littleton Madawaska Mapleton Mars Hill Masardis Monticello Nackawic New Limerick Oromocto Perham Perth-Andover Pohénégamook Portage Lake Presque Isle Quispamsis Rivière-Bleue Rothesay Sainte Agatha Saint-Camille-de-Lellis Saint-Cyprien Saint Francis Saint John Saint-Just-de-Bretenières Saint-Léonard Saint-Marcel Saint-Pamphile Saint-Zacharie Stockholm Sussex Van Buren Washburn Westfield Woodstock

Landmarks	Allagash Wilderness Waterway Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Clair–Fort Kent Bridge Edmundston–Madawaska Bridge Florenceville Bridge Fort Kent Hartland Bridge North Maine Woods Reversing Falls Saint John Harbour Bridge Saint John River High Level Crossing Saint Leonard–Van Buren Bridge Tinker Dam Watson Settlement Bridge

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