Tide words
The words the beach pages use, each in a few lines.
- Minus tide
- A low tide that drops below zero on the chart, which means below mean lower low water. Minus tides uncover rock and sand that most lows leave under water.
- MLLW (mean lower low water)
- The average of the lower of each day's two lows, taken over a 19-year span. US tide heights are measured up or down from it, so 0.0 ft is that average and -1.0 ft is a foot below it.
- Spring tides
- The bigger tides near new and full moon, when the sun and moon pull in line. Highs run higher and lows run lower. The name has nothing to do with the season.
- Neap tides
- The smaller tides near the half moons, when the sun and moon pull at right angles. The gap between high and low is at its narrowest.
- King tide
- A popular name for the highest high tides of the year, when a spring tide comes as the moon is near its closest. The same lineups tend to bring some of the year's lowest lows.
- Intertidal zone
- The strip of shore between the highest highs and the lowest lows, under water for part of the day and uncovered for the rest. Tide pools form here.
- Slack water
- The short spell around a high or a low when the tidal current eases and turns. Near a low, it is when the level changes least.