Reversing Falls

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The Reversing Falls are a series of rapids on the Saint John River located in Saint John, New Brunswick where the river runs through a narrow gorge before emptying into the Bay of Fundy.

The diurnal tides of the bay force the flow of water to reverse against the prevailing current at this location when the tide is high (a tidal bore), although in the spring freshet, this is frequently surpassed by the downstream volume of water. The rapids, or "falls", are created by a series of underwater ledges which roil the water in either direction, causing a significant navigation hazard, despite the depth of water. As a result, vessels wishing to enter or exit from the river must wait for "slack tide".

The Reversing Falls has also been an industrial site for over a century, with a Canadian Pacific Railway Canadian Pacific (now NB Southern) Rail transport railway bridge crossing immediately downstream from the falls, as well as a foundry and other light industrial operations on the east side of the gorge, and a large pulp mill on the west side. J.D. Irving, the company which has operated the pulp mill since purchasing it in the late 1940s, has encountered some criticism in recent decades for maintaining the facility at what is viewed as one of Saint John's prime tourism locations. This criticism became most pronounced during the 1980s and 1990s when the city government created Falls View Park on the former industrial foundry lands on the east side of the gorge.

In the late 1990s a tourist business was established, offering jet boat rides on the river in the vicinity of the falls; however the boats do not operate in the roughest areas which see an approximately 3 m drop in water level over a very short distance. The operators tend to stay in the choppy waters immediately downstream and attempt to soak passengers by driving through small whirlpools at the base of the railway bridge. Another more recent development at the Reversing Falls has been its growing use as a whitewater kayaking location, made unique by the changes in formation of the rapids during incoming or outgoing tides.