The Moon’s gravity causes all the seas and oceans in the world to bulge outwards on the sides facing directly toward and away from the Moon, with low points in between.
Because Earth rotates and the Moon orbits Earth, the two bulges sweep around Earth every 24 hours and 50 minutes.
But local geography affects the tides a lot, too. In the English Channel, the tide sloshes in from both the Atlantic and the North Sea.
The peaks reach Weymouth at slightly different times, so it regularly gets a low tide that comes back in slightly before going out again for a second time each day.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Peter Richardson, Tiverton) 'Do the tides of different seas affect each other?'
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