The Natural Land Bridge

Mont St. Michel used to be visited by crossing a bridge linking the islet from land that was created over time. The bridge was also used as a parking lot.The bridge used to be unsafe if you crossed it at the wrong time, and took the lives of many because of hazardous tidal waves. The tides are very dangerous and roll in 1 meter per second. The bridge's popular nickname was St. Michael in Peril of the Sea. There were times when you couldn't visit the cathedral, and that was during the high tide where the water rose up to 15 meters. Long ago, this helped the islet be safe from enemies and invaders. You could see the land bridge emerge again during the low tide. In 1879, the natural land bridge was destroyed and turned into a causeway which caused silt to form.Today improvements have been made to reduce silt formation, and now visitors can only visit the cathedral in a shuttle through a bridge.

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