Is there a name for the mid point between high and low tides?

Trabic@lemmy.one to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 55 points –

Half-tide doesn't sound right to me, slack-tide is something else entirely, my google-fu has failed me.

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I don't claim expertise, but after living in four different coastal areas of three different bodies of water, I've not heard one. It's always just "6 hours to high tide" or something like that, they want to know time to high/low point so people can plan accordingly.

“Stand of the tide” is offered by Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slack_tide?wprov=sfti1#Misconceptions

stand of the tide', which is when tide levels 'stand' at a maximum or minimum

Isn’t that when it’s just standing at high or low tide?

Some googling leads me to find it’s either “ebb tide” or “flood tide” depending on whether it’s halfway falling or halfway rising, respectively. I’m not sure if this is exactly half way though, some diagrams make it appear that any time in between in either one of these, not necessarily half way exactly.

We use them as just the tide flow here.

I wouldn't be taken aback if someone said half tide, and is probably what I would use if I was asked on the spot

I think you're right about slack and stand, and ebb and flood would work but it's usually just a glimpse when I drive over a bridge that makes me think about it, so I don't know which way it's going.

Stand of the tide seems different than the midpoint. At the midpoint the tide is definitely changing in one direction or another.

Stand of the tide seems maximum or minimum.

Idk the answer to your question, but it seems like there should be one. Equitide or something.

Stauwasser

Isn't that more like Slack-tide when a high or low tide turns and becomes still (Stau like traffic?)

That's what he asked though? The point between rising and falling tide

I was wondering about the point where it is halfway between high and low, whether it is ebbing or flowing. Slack is more the high or low point where it switches from ebbing to flowing.

Yeah idk. I spend a inordinate amount of time talking about tides and watching them, but generally only high and low are focused on because the midtide is when the water is changing the fastest. The water spends more time at high or low than it does I. the middle, so it's not really noticable.

I grew up on the coast, so I never really thought about tides just that that was the way it was. Then I married someone from a landlocked country and every time we drive over the bridge over the cove near our house I comment when the tide is high or low since they are used to lakes, and I'm never quite sure what to say when it's in the middle.

I didn't grow up at the coast, but I learned about the tides the hard way (we found a nice place at the beach at low tide, and had to seriously hurry to get everything to safety). That taught me about tides.

Last year we were visiting a coastal town in the UK, and I had checked the tide table beforehand so I could always tell my wife and our friend about the current state. Sadly, we never had the time to see the beach or the port there - whenever we had time, it was already dark.

Growing up, we had a game called "fight the tide" where we would build sand castles in the intertidal zone with a stick in the peak of the castle. Last stick standing wins a chocolate bar.

Ebb tide? Or intertidal, maybe.

Ebb is the state of the tide going out, Flow is coming in.

Intertidal is an interesting thought, but isn't it already taken by the area that is covered by high tide and exposed at low.