Bay of Fundy Nature Conservancy of Canada. Some sources believe the name "Fundy" is a corruption of the French word "Fendu", meaning "split", while others believe it comes from the Portuguese "funda", meaning "deep". The bay was also named Baie Française (French Bay) by Samuel de Champlain during a 1604 expedition to St. Croix Island. The Bay of Fundy has a high tidal range. Oceanographers attribute it to tidal resonance resulting from a coincidence of timing: the time it takes a large wave to go from the mouth of the bay to the inner shore and back is practically the same as the
Bay of Fundy time from one high tide to the next. During the 12.4-hour tidal period, 115 billion tonnes of water flow in and out of the bay. According to the Canadian Hydrographic Service, there is a tidal range in Leaf Basin for Ungava Bay and at Burntcoat Head for the Bay of Fundy. The range at Leaf Basin is higher on average than at Minas Basin; however, the highest recorded tidal ranges ever measured are at Burntcoat Head and result from spring tides measured at the peak of the tidal cycle, which occurs every 18 years. The highest water level ever recorded