Tsunami Facts

Tsunami facts, how they form, warning signs, and safety. A tsunami is a series large sea waves caused by an underwater earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption. Very rarely, a tsunami can be generated by a giant meteor impact with the ocean. Tsunami is a Japanese word. They are fairly common in Japan, and many thousands of Japanese have been killed by them in recent centuries. An earthquake can generate a tsunami if it is of sufficient force and there is violent movement of the earth to cause substantial and sudden movement of a massive amount of water. A tsunami is not a single wave but a series of waves, also known as a wave train. The first wave in a tsunami is not necessarily the most destructive. Tsunami waves can be very long and be as far as one hour apart, and are able to cross entire oceans without great loss of energy. A tsunami may be less than a foot in height on the surface of the open ocean, which is why they are not noticed by sailors. But the powerful shock wave of energy travels rapidly through the ocean as fast as a jet. Once a tsunami reaches shallow water near the coast, it is slowed down. The top of the wave moves faster than the bottom, causing the sea to rise dramatically. Visit this website for more tsunami facts. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/070402-tsunami.html