The possibility of reproducing the complexity of tides in shallow water areas with a classical finite difference numerical model is examined. This hydrodynamic model is two-dimensional but incorporates topography, nonlinear advection and quadratic bottom friction. Particular care is taken to prescribe sea surface elevations at the open boundaries. A one-month simulation of “real” tides is run with a simplified spectrum restricted to only 24 constituents, corresponding to the nine main astronomical tides and their nonlinear significant interactions. The results are analyzed by spectral decomposition (elevations and vertically integrated currents) and compared with observational data from the tide gages and current meters, and with other solutions produced in the literature. It is found that: the dominant M2 constituent greatly influences the damping of the other constituents, so that it is necessary to run them together for any correct simulation; however, the quadratic friction law introduced in ... Abstract The possibility of reproducing the complexity of tides in shallow water areas with a classical finite difference numerical model is examined. This hydrodynamic model is two-dimensional but incorporates topography, nonlinear advection and quadratic bottom friction. Particular care is taken to prescribe sea surface elevations at the open boundaries. A one-month simulation of “real” tides is run with a simplified spectrum restricted to only 24 constituents, corresponding to the nine main astronomical tides and their nonlinear significant interactions. The results are analyzed by spectral decomposition (elevations and vertically integrated currents) and compared with observational data from the tide gages and current meters, and with other solutions produced in the literature. It is found that: the dominant M2 constituent greatly influences the damping of the other constituents, so that it is necessary to run them together for any correct simulation; however, the quadratic friction law introduced in ...