Comparison of sediments from Bay of Fundy and Dutch Wadden Sea tidal flats

Abstract Tidal flat sediments from the Dutch Wadden Sea, described by van Straaten (1949-61), are compared with sediments in the Bay of Fundy. The Wadden Sea tidal flats form in the lee of barrier islands in a low-lying subsiding coastal area with abundant sediment. The Bay of Fundy intertidal zone is more complex because of larger coastal relief, bedrock cliffs, and larger tidal ranges. The dominant environment of deposition, not found in the Wadden Sea, is a wave-cut bench with a thin veneer of locally derived sediment reworked by waves and tides. Wadden Sea type tidal flats occur in the Bay of Fundy in the lee of the Five Islands, Nova Scotia, but the sediments show many differences due to local geology.