Which tidal current rotates through all compass directions during the tidal period?

• A. Reversing Tidal Current
• B. Rotary Tidal Current
• C. Flood Current
• D. Hydraulic Tidal Current

Answer: (B)

Rotary currents describe a tidal flow that sweeps through every compass direction during the tidal cycle. As the tide rises and falls, the current doesn’t simply push in one direction and then reverse along the same line; it gradually shifts and completes a circular pattern around a local center. This results from the combination of tidal forcing, coastline geometry, depth variations, and the Coriolis effect, which together create a small circulation that turns through all directions over the period.

A reversing tidal current, by contrast, just flips direction between flood and ebb along a general axis and doesn’t trace a full 360-degree rotation. A flood current is the inbound flow during the rising tide, not a rotating pattern, and hydraulic tidal current isn’t the term for this rotational behavior.