Monday, October 1, 2012

14 Interesting Tidal Islands

A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland at low tide at which time they can be reached on foot. At high tide however it is completely cut off from the mainland and becomes a real island. Tidal islands are sometimes connected to the mainland by a man-made causeway allowing easy access for visitors wishing to cross over but even these can get submerged by the sea. So always check the tide times before you visit, or get ready to swim back.

1. St Michael's Mount, UK
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St Michael's Mount is a tidal island located 366 metres (400 yards) off the Mount's Bay coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is a civil parish and is united with the town of Marazion by a man-made causeway of granite setts, passable between mid-tide and low water.
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The chapel of St Michael, a 15th century building, has an embattled tower, in one angle of which is a small turret, which served for the guidance of ships. Some studies indicate that any rise in ocean waters as well as existing natural erosion would put some of the Cornwall coast at risk, including St. Michael’s Mount. [link1link2map]

2. Modo, South Korea
Causeway between Jindo and Modo Islands (photo taken from Jindo Island)  link
Modo Island is a small island in Jindo County, South Jeolla province, South Korea, just off the southwest corner of the Korean peninsula. It is located to the south-east of Jindo Island and is about 1.1 km (0.7 mi) long and 300 meters (330 yds) wide.
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The tide-related sea level variations result in a local phenomenon (a "Moses Miracle") when a land pass 2.9 km (1.8 mi) long and 10–40 meters (11-33 yds) wide opens for an hour between Modo and Jindo islands. The event occurs approximately twice a year, around April-June. It had long been celebrated in a local festival called "Jindo's Sea Way", but was largely unknown to the world until 1975, when the French ambassador Pierre Randi described the phenomenon in a French newspaper. Nowadays, nearly half a million foreign and local tourists attend the event annually. [linkmap]

3. Newquay Island, UK
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Newquay Island in Cornwall is joined to the mainland by a suspension bridge. Actually a huge 70 foot (21 m) high rocky outcropping, it appears to be an island when the tide is in, but one can walk right up to it when the tide is out. The bridge was built in 1900 and is just wide enough for a person to walk across. Though it wasn't designed with those suffering from acrophobia in mind, it is very safe and is inspected every year.
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There's only one house on the tiny island, and it's run as an up-market bed and breakfast establishment. Surrounded by a beautiful garden which itself is surrounded either by the sands of Newquay Beach or by the sea - depending on the time of day. [link, map]

4. Mont Saint-Michel, France
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Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island and a commune in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometre (just over half a mile) off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. The population of the island is 44, as of 2009. The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times, and since the 8th century AD been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. The Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay are part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. More than 3,000,000 people visit it each year.
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Mont Saint-Michel was previously connected to the mainland via a tidal causeway, i.e. a trackway covered at high tide and revealed at low tide. But today, this island is connected to the mainland by an elevated light bridge that was built in the past few years. [link, map]

5. Haji Ali Dargah, India
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The Haji Ali Dargah is a mosque and dargah (tomb) located on an islet off the coast of Worli in the Southern part of Mumbai. Near the heart of the city proper, the Dargah is one of the most recognisable landmarks of Mumbai.
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The accessibility to the Dargah is very much dependent on the tides. As, the causeway is not bound by railings, when the causeway gets submerged during the tides high tides it becomes inaccessible. Therefore, the Dargah is accessible only during low tide. This walk on the causeway, with the sea on both sides, is one of the highlights of a trip to the shrine. [link, map]

6. Rough Island, UK
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Rough Island is a tidal island in Rough Firth off the Solway Firth, Scotland. It is 24 m (26 yds) at its highest point. Since 1937 it has been in the ownership of the National Trust for Scotland. The island is a bird sanctuary accessible across the causeway from Kippford when the tides allow but visitors should avoid doing this during the months of May and June to avoid disturbing the nesting oystercatchers and ringed plovers.
Causeway to Rough Island  link
Rough Island is one of 43 tidal islands that can be walked to from the mainland of England, Wales & Scotland and one of 17 that can be walked to from the Scottish mainland. [link, map]

7. Eilean Donan, UK
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Eilean Donan is a small island in Loch Duich in the western Highlands of Scotland. It is connected to the mainland by a footbridge and lies about half a mile from the village of Dornie. Donnán is said to have established a church on the island, though no trace of this remains.
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The island is dominated by a picturesque castle which is familiar from many photographs. The castle was founded in the thirteenth century, but was destroyed in the eighteenth century. The present buildings are the result of twentieth-century reconstruction.
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Eilean Donan is part of the Kintail National Scenic Area (a conservation designation used in Scotland), one of 40 in Scotland. In 2001, the island had a population of just one person. [linkmap]

8. Mandø, Denmark
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Mandø is one of the Danish Wadden Sea islands off the southwest coast of Jutland, Denmark in the Wadden Sea, part of the North Sea. The island covers an area of 7.63 sq km (2.95 sq mi) and has 62 inhabitants. The island is situated approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) southwest of the ancient town of Ribe.
Causeway to Mandø at high tide  link
Mandø is barely accessible at high tide over an unpaved surface level causeway of about four kilometers (2.5 mi) in length that connects the island to the mainland. Extensive mudflats and tidal marshes encircle the island and provide breeding areas to multitudes of birds and other organisms. In the past centuries a large earthen dike has been constructed around the perimeter of the island, although substantially set back from the shoreline. This artifice has allowed conventional farming in the form of grain growing and sheep grazing. [linkmap]

9. Lindisfarne, UK
Lindisfarne at low tide  link
Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland. Large parts of the island, and all of the adjacent intertidal area, are protected as Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve to help safeguard the internationally important wintering bird populations.
Lindisfarne Castle located on the same name island  link
Lindisfarne is a popular place with visitors. By staying on the island while it is cut off by the tide tourists can experience the island in a much quieter state, as most day trippers leave before the tide rises. At low tide it is possible to walk across the sands following an ancient route known as Pilgrims' Way. This route is marked with posts and has refuge boxes for stranded walkers, just as the road has a refuge box for those who have left their crossing too late. [link, map]

10. Burgh Island, UK
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Burgh Island is a small tidal island off the coast of South Devon in England near to the small seaside village of Bigbury-on-Sea. There are several buildings on the island, the largest being the Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel. The other buildings are three private houses, and a public house, the Pilchard Inn, run by the hotel.
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The island is approximately 270 yards (250 m) from the mainland at Bigbury-on-Sea and is approachable on foot at low tide. At high tide, the sea tractor, which is operated by the hotel, transports passengers back and forth.
The sea tractor is used to ferry visitors to the island during high tide  link
The original vehicle was constructed in 1930; the current, third generation tractor dates from 1969. The vehicle drives across the beach with its wheels underwater on the sandy bottom while its driver and passengers sit on a platform high above. Power from a Fordson tractor engine is relayed to the wheels via hydraulic motors. [link, map]

11. Cramond Island, UK
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Cramond Island is one of several islands that lie in the Firth of Forth in eastern Scotland, near Edinburgh. Situated approximately one mile (1.6 km) out at sea, Cramond is a tidal island which is only connected to the mainland at low tide.
View of the causeway to Cramond Island, taken from the island just after the sea cleared the causeway  link
There is a paved path, exposed at low water, which allows easy access. This causeway runs at the foot of a row of concrete pylons on one side of the causeway, which were constructed as a submarine defence boom during the Second World War and are one of the most striking sights in the area.
Causeway at low tide  link
At high tide the path is covered by several feet of seawater which cuts the island off from the mainland. It is safe to walk along the raised causeway to the island at low tide, but only if visitors ensure that they leave sufficient time to return to the mainland before the water rises. [link, map]

12. Bar Island, USA
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Bar island is a tidal island across from Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine, United States. The uninhabited island forested mostly in pine and birch is now part of Acadia National Park. There are walking trails on the island.
The underwater sandbar is temporarily exposed twice a day at low tide  link
A sand and gravel bar exposed only a couple of hours at low tide connects Bar Island to Bridge Street in Bar Harbor. At low tide visitors often walk across, or park cars on the exposed bar. However on the island side in front of a locked gate only a small area fringed with dense sea rose bushes, is elevated enough to provide safe parking. Visitors have been known to return from a hike to find their cars submerging and themselves stranded until the tide recedes. [link, map]

13. Fort Louvois, France
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Fort Louvois is a coastal fort built on a rock between Oléron Island and the Marennes Basin. It was built from 1691 to 1694 according to plans drawn up by Vauban, the famous military engineer who served under Louis XIV.
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Taking the form of a horseshoe-shaped outer wall with a central tower protected by a drawbridge and moat, the fort is reminiscent of a medieval castle. Fort Louvois was designed to protect the southern approach to the Charente estuary by catching enemy ships in a crossfire with the citadel at Oléron.
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This prevented an enemy from sailing up the river to attack the naval dockyards at Rochefort. At low tide, the fort is connected to the mainland by a 400-metre  (1.300 ft) long causeway[linkmap]

14. Hilbre Island, UK
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Hilbre Island is the largest of a group of three islands at the mouth of the estuary of the River Dee, which is a part of the estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest. As of 2012, the island has no permanent residents.
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The island is tidal and can be reached on foot from the mainland at low tide. This is a popular activity with tourists, especially during the summer months. Until the end of the 1970s, there was a route from Red Rocks in Hoylake, but this has now been closed because of the danger of being caught by the tide and visitors are advised to set out from the town of West Kirby.
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Little Eye and Middle Eye (neighboring islands) are both unpopulated, but Hilbre Island has a few houses, some of which are privately owned. [link, map]
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6 comments:

  1. Interesting how the U.K. seems to be the center of the world geography.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very interesting shots and nice fotos

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for a nice post, there aro more photos of Mont-St-Michel on my holiday photo blog: http://www.on-holidays.eu/france/mont-st-michel-a-magic-island-in-normandy.htm (Mont-Saint-Michel).

    ReplyDelete
  4. It is not the destination where you end up but the mishaps and memories you create along the way!

    Flights to Lilongwe | Cheap Air Tickets to Lilongwe

    ReplyDelete
  5. If you are interested in tidal islands can I recommend my book No Boat Required - Exploring Tidal Islands, which describes my visits to the 43 tidal islands which can be walked to from the mainland of England, Scotland & Wales. I claim to be the first person to have visted all these islands.
    www.petercatonbooks.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  6. Really dumb.
    Mt. Saint Michel is in Normandy, France (check google map - you might be surprised).
    And it is not in Arizona! OMG!

    ReplyDelete

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