South Carolina’s Lowcountry has the highest tides along the south Atlantic coast because of the shape of the coastline.
The dramatic, concave shape of the east coast from North Carolina to northern Florida, called the Georgia Bight, funnels the rising tidal bulge into a smaller and smaller area as it approaches the coast. The Lowcountry is at the center of the curve, resulting in the highest tides. Port Royal Sound for instance has an average tide height of about 8.0 feet, while in Jacksonville, Fla., it’s about 2.5 feet and in the Florida Keys only a foot or so.
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