TIDES

By Jennifer Dees and Jessica Chase

presented at Natural Bridges State Beach to a docent training class

April 18, 2009

Presentation on tides — QuickTime movie of our presentation about Tides to the Natural Bridges training class

NOAA (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is the official agency that monitors tides in our country and it provides some excellent information about tides:
“Tides and Water Levels,” a National Ocean Service (NOS) Education Discovery Kit.

Book for kids, with simplified explanation of tides, Exploring Low Tide in Northern California, by Olga and Christopher Werby, pp. 58–63.

There is a beautifully written chapter on tides, “The Moving Tides,” with solid scientific information as well, in Rachel Carson’s book, The Sea Around Us. (We like the illustrated commemorative edition, Oxford University Press, © 2003.)

A detailed explanation of the physics behind tides is found in the article,"Tides," by Mark W. Denny of Stanford University, in the Encyclopedia of Tidepools and Rocky Shores, p. 588–595. Very dense!

Tidelog Graphic Almanacs – we love the one for Northern California. Visual representation of the tides for every day of the year, juxtaposed with phase of the moon, sunrise/sunset, etc.

Web sites

Ocean Tides, from “Introduction to the Hydrosphere, a “Fundamentals eBook” from PhysicalGeography.net.

Wikipedia has a very detailed treatment of tides.

Moon Tides: How the Moon Affects Ocean Tides

Tide info at Surfing Santa Cruz – not highly technical, but very local

Webcam at Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf – check out the waves any time via the Web. Also has tide tables for Santa Cruz.