For the first time in a millennium, France experienced the first giant tide on its North Atlantic coast.

This event that took place March 21 and was generated by the full moon and the solar eclipse the day before that created an ocean surge not seen since 1997.

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One of the most picturesque islands in France, Mont Saint Michel is where some of the most massive tides occured. Visitors from all over the nation gathered here to watch the sea suround the abbey then disappear from view, exposing underwater areas before the tides returned.

According to the National Hydrographic Service, low water was expected to measure some 14 meters on the afternoon of March 21 and high water around evening at the famed Abbey found in France's northwestern coast. The average tides around this area are about 8.7 meters high.

On the morning of March 21, the high tide was already close to its peak level and the sea flooded an area eight miles inland.

Authorities already warned locals about getting caught in the fast moving water but a 70 year-old man was swept away in Soulac in the southwest Gironde area, according to local police reports.

Locals often go "fishing on foot," which is a favorite pastime, especially during extreme tides, to collect shellfish and crabs exposed by the water.

But the calm water brought by this extreme tideswas disappointing to many that had expected fiercer and higher waters.

One tourist that awaited the tides in Saint-Malo in the far western coast and expected to see huge tides was disappointed since the last extreme tide he experienced here left him imprisoned in his hotel room because the street was very well flooded.

The lowest tide was around 3:16 p.m. local time at the Granville port spanning the coast from Mont Saint Michel and the highest tide was around 8:10 p.m. local time.

In other parts of the world, the largest tidal highs and lows occur in the Bay of Fundy and Ungava Bay in Canada. According to the Canadian Hydrographic Service, the tides here can reach up to 17 meters in height.

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