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> The tide
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The silting-up
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The large dredging project
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The natural treasures of the bay
The largest
tides in the world
The greatest tides in the world, running into and out of the Bay of Mont Saint Michel, form
a magnificent spectacle which men have
decided to preserve for future generations, thanks to the plan for restoring the marine character of the Mont Saint Michel.
The Mont Saint Michel tides invade the bay twice a day. An impressive and unforgettable spectacle which can be witnessed form the ramparts of the Mont Saint Michel which dominate the bay.
août 2008
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The Mont Saint Michel is situated in a bay of 40,000 hectares, traversed by three rivers, the Couesnon, the Sée and the Sélune, and washed twice a day by the tides.
The tides are caused by the Moon's gravitational pull which inflates the
surface of the seas and oceans as well as changing the configuration of the coast and sometimes, as in the case of the bay of Saint Michel, accentuating currents and waves.
When the pull of the moon is at its strongest, at full moon, we find ourselves in the period of high seas and high tides.
At such times, the sea covers the more than 15 kilometres from its low point at the coast as far as Saint Michel, repeating this incessant movement twice a day.
A magnificent natural spectacle, but also dangerous for careless people venturing into the bay, who can be swept away by the sudden rising of the tide which can move at the speed of a galloping horse or engulfed by moving sands.
From the Middle Ages on, pilgrims to Saint Michel, well aware of the dangers, talked of the Mont as being "at the mercy of the sea". However, today yet another danger threatens the Mont Saint Michel "at the mercy of the earth".