Petitcodiac River

The Petitcodiac River is a river located in south-eastern New Brunswick, Canada. Local tourist businesses often refer to it as the "chocolate river" due to its distinctive brown mud floor and brown waters. Stretching across a meander length of 79 kilometres, the river traverses Westmorland, Albert, and Kings counties, draining a watershed area of about 2,071 square kilometres. The watershed features valleys, ridges, and rolling hills, and is home to a diverse population of terrestrial and aquatic species. Ten named tributaries join the river in its course toward its mouth in Shepody Bay. Prior to the construction of a causeway in 1968, the Petitcodiac River had one of the world's largest tidal bores, which ranged from 1 to 2 metres in height and moved at speeds of 5 to 13 kilometres per hour. With the opening of the causeway gates in April 2010, the river is flushing itself of ocean silts, and the bore is returning to its former size.