What’s on the Tides poster
A definition and 6 facts worth remembering.
Tides are the ocean's response to the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. Most coasts see two high and two low tides in about 24 hours and 50 minutes.
- Spring tides — largest range — at full and new moon.
- Neap tides — smallest range — at half moon.
- The rule of twelfths estimates the rise between tides.
- An incoming tide can cut off a beach or cove very quickly.
- Tide times shift about 50 minutes later each day.
- Local tide tables are essential; general rules are not enough.
- Cycle — ~12h 25m
- Daily shift — ~50 min
- Spring tides — full / new moon
- The rule of twelfths: the tide rises 1/12, 2/12, 3/12, 3/12, 2/12, 1/12 of its range…
Check tide times before walking on any beach with cliffs or a causeway. Being cut off is the commonest coastal rescue.
Questions about the Tides poster
- What’s on the Tides poster?
- A definition and 6 facts worth remembering. Tides are the ocean's response to the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. Most coasts see two high and two low tides in about 24 hours and 50 minutes. Spring tides — largest range — at full and new moon.; Neap tides — smallest range — at half moon.; The rule of twelfths estimates the rise between tides.; An incoming tide can cut off a beach or cove very quickly.; Tide times shift about 50 minutes later each day.; Local tide tables are essential; general rules are not enough.; Cycle — ~12h 25m; Daily shift — ~50 min; Spring tides — full / new moon; The rule of twelfths: the tide rises 1/12, 2/12, 3/12, 3/12, 2/12, 1/12 of its range…. Check tide times before walking on any beach with cliffs or a causeway. Being cut off is the commonest coastal rescue.
- Who is the Tides poster for?
- Tides belongs to the Practical skills section rather than to a school year, because life skills is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning outdoors can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Tides poster?
- Two highs and two lows a day, roughly. Each is about 50 minutes later than yesterday. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Tides belongs on the wall where that life skills work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Tides?
- Building a Fire, Six Knots and Foraging Safety sit alongside Tides in the Practical skills section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Building a FireSix KnotsForaging Safety
- Is the Tides poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Tides downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Practical skills section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Tides poster print at?
- Tides is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Tides loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Tides on the same wall.
Browse every Practical skills poster, or start from the full catalogue.