What term refers to water rushing out of an enclosed harbor or bay because of the fall in sea level as a tide trough approaches?

• A. Flood Current
• B. High Tide
• C. Ebb Current
• D. Low Tide

Answer: (C)

During each tidal cycle, water moves in and out of coastlines as sea level rises and falls. When the tide is falling, water flows outward from shore toward deeper water—this is the ebb current. In an enclosed harbor or bay, the fall in sea level during the trough drives water out through the entrance, creating that outward, seaward flow. High tide and low tide describe the actual water levels, not the direction of flow, while a flood current is the inward flow when sea level is rising toward high tide. So the term for water rushing out as the tide drops is the ebb current.