Which term describes water moving into an enclosed harbor when crest approaches?

• A. Ebb Current
• B. High Tide
• C. Mean Sea Level
• D. Flood Current

Answer: (D)

Tidal currents describe horizontal water movement during tides. When the crest of the tide approaches, the water flows landward as the tide rises, producing a flood current—this is the inward movement of water into the harbor. The opposite flow, outward as the tide falls, is an ebb current. High tide is simply the moment of maximum water height, not the direction of movement, and mean sea level is a reference height, not a current. So the term that best fits water moving into an enclosed harbor as the crest approaches is flood current.