What is a tsunami?
A tsunami is a series of ocean waves that sends surges of water, sometimes reaching heights of over 100 feet (30.5 meters), onto land. These walls of water can cause widespread destruction when they crash ashore.
These gigantic waves are caused by large, undersea earthquakes at tectonic plate boundaries. When the ocean floor at a plate boundary rises, or suddenly falls it displaces the water above it and launches the rolling waves that will turn into a tsunami.
What do tsunamis look like?
In some places, tsunamis can reach up to 100 feet (30 meters) tall, vertically. Most tsunamis cause the sea level to rise no more than 10 feet (3 meters) tall. Tsunami waves have much longer periods of 10 minutes to 2 hours, wavelengths of 100-500 km (60-300 miles), and travel at speeds of 800-1000 km per hour (500-600 miles per hour).
What damage can a tsunami do?
The effects of a tsunami on coastline can range The effects of a tsunami on the coast line can range from unnoticeable to devastating. Tsunamis can cause tremendous destruction of property and loss of lives. They can completely destroy buildings and leave towns in a devastated state.
Small tsunamis are non-destructive, and they happen frequently due to minor earthquakes; however, large tsunamis reach incredible heights, and they savagely attack coastlines
An example of a tsunami is the Japan Tsunami. Japan's government says the total cost of the damage caused by the tsunami could reach 25 trillion yen or in U.S. dollars, $309 billion.
A tsunami is a series of ocean waves that sends surges of water, sometimes reaching heights of over 100 feet (30.5 meters), onto land. These walls of water can cause widespread destruction when they crash ashore.
These gigantic waves are caused by large, undersea earthquakes at tectonic plate boundaries. When the ocean floor at a plate boundary rises, or suddenly falls it displaces the water above it and launches the rolling waves that will turn into a tsunami.
What do tsunamis look like?
In some places, tsunamis can reach up to 100 feet (30 meters) tall, vertically. Most tsunamis cause the sea level to rise no more than 10 feet (3 meters) tall. Tsunami waves have much longer periods of 10 minutes to 2 hours, wavelengths of 100-500 km (60-300 miles), and travel at speeds of 800-1000 km per hour (500-600 miles per hour).
What damage can a tsunami do?
The effects of a tsunami on coastline can range The effects of a tsunami on the coast line can range from unnoticeable to devastating. Tsunamis can cause tremendous destruction of property and loss of lives. They can completely destroy buildings and leave towns in a devastated state.
Small tsunamis are non-destructive, and they happen frequently due to minor earthquakes; however, large tsunamis reach incredible heights, and they savagely attack coastlines
An example of a tsunami is the Japan Tsunami. Japan's government says the total cost of the damage caused by the tsunami could reach 25 trillion yen or in U.S. dollars, $309 billion.
Click above to watch
a video about tsunamis
a video about tsunamis