The Carolina coast
The Cape Fear River, tide by tide
The river breathes twice a day. Four ways to see it.
- Medium
- NOAA tidal current predictions at 18 stations, four ways
- Length
- 25 s each
- Collection
- The Carolina coast
- Posted
- Nov 10, 2026
The story
The tide comes in and out of the Cape Fear twice a day, and the flood runs all the way up to Wilmington. NOAA predicts the current at 18 points from Bald Head Shoal to Wilmington, and this map strings them together into one moving river.
The same day of tides, drawn four ways: glowing current over the river's terrain, the current at every station stacked as lines, a paper nautical chart with current arrows, and the water alone, breathing.
What you're seeing
- Blue is the flood coming in; amber is the ebb going out.
- These are predictions, not measurements, and wind can push the real water ahead or behind them.
Data
Have an interesting day.