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Alaska Tides: Home of Some of the World's Largest Ranges

Alaska's coastline is long and varied enough to include some of the most extreme tides anywhere on the planet, alongside more moderate patterns elsewhere in the state.

Cook Inlet: among the largest tides on Earth

Turnagain Arm, off Cook Inlet near Anchorage, sees a tidal range that can approach 40 feet — putting it in the same league as the Bay of Fundy as one of the largest tidal ranges anywhere. It's extreme enough to produce its own tidal bore, a genuine wave that travels up the inlet on the incoming tide.

Southeast Alaska (the Panhandle)

The islands and channels of Southeast Alaska, around Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan, see a large mixed semidiurnal tide too, generally in the 12–18 foot range, with genuinely strong currents funneling through the narrow passages between islands — a serious factor for small-boat navigation and timing.

Why Alaska sees such large tides

Much of the state's coastline shares the same basic ingredients as other extreme-tide locations: funnel-shaped inlets and bays that narrow and shallow moving inland, amplifying the tide well beyond what the open Pacific sees offshore.

What this means on the water

Strong currents mean tide timing isn't optional for boaters and anglers here the way it might be elsewhere — getting the timing wrong can mean a genuinely dangerous crossing, not just a slower one. Salmon and halibut fishing throughout the state are commonly planned around tide movement, similar to the principles in our best tides for fishing guide.

Search Alaska's coastline on the Simple Tides map.