Why Do Tides Rise and Fall? 🌊 When you see the tide roll in or out, what you’re really witnessing is a slow, continuous shift in how Earth’s oceans are distributed. As the Moon’s gravity pulls on our planet, it actually distorts Earth’s shape — stretching it slightly into a football-like form, elongated at the equator and flattened at the poles. These tidal bulges are what create the rising and ebbing tides. As Earth spins, landmasses rotate through the bulges. Our observer sees high tide when