The Evidence of the Tide

In Iceland, as before in Galway and Bristol, Columbus was struck by the phenomenon of the tide. He says he measured a tide of 36 fathoms: at Easter; in fact, the tide in Bristol is 14 meters (26 Genoese fathoms). If the sea recedes for 14 meters, and then returns to high tide after 12 hours, it cannot fall into the depths, as claimed by medieval superstitions. The tide was an important clue for Columbus about the existence of a great land beyond the Atlantic.