Anyone who has ever experienced a tidal wave will never forget it.
waves are called "tsunamis" by the Japanese. "Tsunami" actually means.
"harbor wave", and this kind of wave is very destructive. Tidal waves have .
many effects on all of the places that they hit. They form in interesting ways .
and are not easily predicted.
Tidal waves can be formed in many different ways. Landslides and .
volcanic eruptions or explosions can assist in forming tsunamis. Hurricanes .
and their storm surges can bring on tidal waves. Underwater .
earthquakes can also form tidal waves. According to researcher Daniel .
Pendick, "Tsunami earthquakes happen at subduction zones, places where .
drifting plates that make up earth's outer shell converge, and the heavier .
.
oceanic plate dips below the lighter continents."1 Another way that tidal waves .
can form is from impacts from comets or asteroids. The asteroid's impact is so .
huge that Mr. Pendick adds, "Some scientists have calculated that if an .
asteroid three miles across hit the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the tsunami .
would swamp the Upper East Coast of the United States as far inland as the .
Appalachian Mountains and would drown the coasts of France and Portugal."2 .
.
Although tidal waves are caused by different factors, they are all .
relatively similar. These huge waves can move up to speeds of two hundred.
miles per hour. Tidal waves can rise up to 1,000 feet. The Australian Academy .
of Science gives this information: "The energy in tidal waves is .
proportional to the length (the distance between two crests of the waves) and to .
the square of the height (the distance between the trough and the crest)." 3 All .
tsunamis have long wave lengths, so it is possible for them to lose energy .
slowly; therefore, they can travel vast distances and still be powerful. In these .
ways, tidal waves are alike.
