King Tides to Return to the Bay Area, Possibly Exposing Ocean Treasures

King tides are returning to the Bay Area this week, officials announced, and with them comes the unique opportunity to witness Northern California‘s vibrant marine life, as well as its forgotten maritime history.

A natural phenomenon that typically occurs once or twice a year, a king tide is the highest predicted tide of the year at coastal locations and brings unusually high water levels to these regions, leading to floods.

A coastal flood advisory goes into effect early Wednesday morning through 2 p.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office announced.

According to the weather service, the combination of the full moon and perihelion on Jan. 3, when Earth is closest to the sun, as well as the lunar perigee on Jan. 1, when the moon is closest to Earth, will lead to the extreme tides.

“In other words all three planetary bodies are lined up and close to each other,” a recent forecast discussion said. When they arrive, the waves could inundate 1.8 feet above normal in low-lying areas along the Pacific coast and Bay Area shorelines, potentially leading to flooding in parking lots, roads and parks.

A general aerial view of San Francisco is seen in San Francisco, California, U.S., October 5, 2017. (credit: REUTERS)

Despite their capacity for damaging property and public roads, however, king tides, which also bring extremely low tides, have the potential to reveal anything from forgotten fossils to secret, hidden islands that only emerge at specific times of the year.

King tides reveal fossils and shipwrecks in Northern California

In 2022, for instance, San Jose State University professor Dustin Mulvaney discovered a trove of fossils after king tides exposed a rugged bluff near Santa Cruz, making for perfect exploring conditions. At the time, he suggested that one particular fossil once belonged to a 5- to 7-million-year-old marine mammal, while another researcher suggested it could be the cervical vertebrae of a balaenopterid baleen whale.

In the past, king tides have also exhumed the forgotten remains of sunken boats, engines and shipyards, shining a light on Northern California’s maritime history.

Just north of Sausalito, the Galilee, a ship built in 1891, can be seen when the water is just low enough. But these tidal patterns, which bring vibrant marine life to the shoreline, also attract eager crowds who pillage locales like Half Moon Bay for black mussels and shellfish.

Though foragers have been harvesting mussels at the beach for decades, some experts worry that social media has brought more people than the environment can handle.

“We have cellphones now, and people post pictures and tell their friends,” Kirk Lombard, commercial fisherman and author of “The Sea Forager’s Guide to the Northern California Coast,” previously told SFGATE. “And those droves of people coming down from the city, it really does have an impact.”

Latest forecast data shows that king tides are expected to flood parts of the region from Wednesday through Sunday. For more real-time information on Bay Area marine conditions, visit the National Weather Service’s website.

The Environment and Climate Change portal is produced in cooperation with the Goldman Sonnenfeldt School of Sustainability and Climate Change at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The Jerusalem Post maintains all editorial decisions related to the content.

King Tides to Return to the Bay Area, Possibly Exposing Ocean Treasures

A natural phenomenon that typically occurs once or twice a year, a king tide is the highest predicted tide of the year at coastal locations and brings unusually high water levels to these regions.

King tides reveal fossils and shipwrecks in Northern California

Google Search

Search Conservative Angle

Click Here To Go Back To The Top