Tidal Current

Tidal currents are the horizontal water movements that accompany the rise and fall of the tide, flooding toward and ebbing away from a coast or through a channel. In open water they rotate through the compass over a tidal cycle (the current ellipse); in constricted channels they reverse, with slack water at the turn. Peak rates in narrows reach several knots, and they dominate sediment transport and navigation timing in tidal seas.