The Reversing Falls are a series of rapids on the Saint John River, located in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

, Canada, where the river runs through a narrow gorge before emptying into the

Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy () is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its tidal range is the highest in the world. The bay was ...

. The semidiurnal

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

s of the bay force the flow of water to reverse against the prevailing current when the tide is high. However, during the spring

freshet The term ''freshet'' is most commonly used to describe a snowmelt, an annual high water event on rivers resulting from snow and river ice melting. Description A spring freshet can sometimes last several weeks on large river systems, resulting ...

, this reversal is often 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 Shipwrecking is any event causing a ship to wreck, such as a collision causing the ship to sink; the stranding of a ship on rocks, land or shoal; poor maintenance, resulting in a lack of seaworthiness; or the destruction of a ship either intent ...

, despite the water's depth. As a result, vessels wishing to enter or exit from the river must wait for slack tide. The Reversing Falls have also been an important industrial site for over a century. The

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

constructed the Reversing Falls Railway Bridge in 1885 and this structure was replaced in 1922; it is currently used by the

New Brunswick Southern Railway The New Brunswick Southern Railway Company Limited is a Canadian short line railway owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company Limited, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglo ...

. The railway bridge crosses the gorge immediately downstream from the falls, parallel to the Reversing Falls Road Bridge. The location of the falls was once home to a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and other light industrial operations on the east side of the gorge, while a large

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...

mill lies on the west side. J.D. Irving, the company which has operated the pulp mill since purchasing it in the late 1940s, has faced 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 developed 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 of being among the worst tourist attractions in the world. 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 did not operate in the roughest areas, which experience a significant drop in water level over a very short distance. The business closed at the end of the 2013 season after 19 years. The operators typically stayed in the choppy waters immediately downstream and attempted 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 Whitewater kayaking is an outdoor adventure sport where paddlers navigate a river in a specially designed kayak. Whitewater kayaking includes several styles: river running, creeking, slalom, playboating, and squirt boating. Each style offers ...

location, made unique by the changes in the formation of the rapids during incoming or outgoing tides. ReversingFalls inbound.jpg, The falls flowing inbound ReversingFalls slack.jpg, The falls slack, 38 minutes after the previous picture was taken ReversingFalls outbound.jpg, The falls flowing outbound, 15 minutes after the slack picture was taken, and 53 minutes after the first of the series was taken

References

External links

* {{Saint John River Waterfalls of New Brunswick Saint John River (Bay of Fundy) Tourist attractions in Saint John, New Brunswick Landforms of Saint John County, New Brunswick