How high are the waves? The highest wave in the world.

Tsunamis have been a nightmare for island residents throughout the centuries. These multi-meter waves with enormous destructive force swept away everything in their path, leaving behind only bare earth and debris. Scientists have been keeping statistics on monstrous waves since the nineteenth century; during this period, more than a hundred tsunamis of varying power were recorded. Do you know what the biggest tsunamis in the world were?

Tsunami: what is it?

It is not surprising that the term “tsunami” was first introduced by the Japanese. They suffered from giant waves more often than anyone, because the Pacific Ocean generates the largest number of destructive waves than all other seas and oceans combined. This is due to the topography of the ocean floor and the high seismicity of the region. In Japanese, the word "tsunami" consists of two characters meaning flood and wave. Thus, the very meaning of the phenomenon is revealed - a wave in the bay, sweeping away all life on the coast.

When was the first tsunami recorded?

Of course, people have always suffered from tsunamis. Ordinary island residents came up with their own names for rogue waves and believed that the gods of the seas were punishing people by sending destructive waves at them.

The first tsunami was officially recorded and explained at the end of the sixteenth century. This was done by the monk of the Jesuit church, Jose de Acosta, he was in Peru when a wave about twenty-five meters high hit the shore. It swept away all the settlements around in a few seconds and moved ten kilometers deep into the continent.

Tsunami: causes and consequences

Tsunamis are most often caused by earthquakes and underwater volcanic eruptions. The closer the earthquake epicenter is to the coast, the stronger the rogue wave will be. The largest tsunamis in the world that have been recorded by mankind could reach speeds of up to one hundred and sixty kilometers per hour and exceed three hundred meters in height. Such waves leave no chance of survival for any living creature caught in their path.

If we consider the nature of this phenomenon, then it can be briefly explained as the simultaneous repression large quantity water masses. Eruptions or earthquakes raise the ocean floor sometimes by several meters, which causes water vibrations and forms several waves diverging from the epicenter to different sides. Initially, they do not represent something terrible and deadly, but as they approach the shore, the speed and height of the wave increases, and it turns into a tsunami.

In some cases, tsunamis are formed as a result of giant landslides. During the twentieth century, about seven percent of all gigantic waves arose for this reason.

The consequences of the destruction left behind by the world's largest tsunami are terrible: thousands of casualties and hundreds of kilometers of land filled with debris and mud. In addition, there is a high probability of spread in the disaster area infectious diseases due to shortage drinking water and rotting bodies of the dead, the search for which is not always possible to organize in the shortest possible time.

Tsunami: is it possible to escape?

Unfortunately, world system warnings about a possible approaching tsunami are still imperfect. IN best case scenario people learn about danger a few minutes before the wave hits, so it is necessary to know the signs of impending disaster and the rules of survival during a cataclysm.

If you are on the sea or ocean coast, then carefully monitor earthquake reports. A shock that occurred somewhere nearby earth's crust a magnitude of about seven on the Richter scale can serve as a warning of a possible tsunami strike. The approach of a rogue wave is signaled by a sudden low tide - the ocean floor is quickly exposed for several kilometers. This a clear sign tsunami. Moreover, the further the water goes, the stronger and more destructive the arriving wave will be. Animals often anticipate such natural disasters: a few hours before the cataclysm, they whine, hide, and try to go deeper into the island or mainland.

To survive a tsunami, you need to leave the dangerous area as soon as possible. Do not take a lot of things with you; drinking water, food and documents will be enough. Try to get as far away from the coast as possible or go up to the roof multi-storey building. All floors after the ninth are considered safe.

If the wave does overtake you, then find an object that you can hold on to. According to statistics, most people die when the wave begins to return back to the ocean and carries away all the objects it comes across. Keep in mind that a tsunami almost never ends in one wave. Most often, the first one will be followed by a series of two or even three new ones.

So, when were the biggest tsunamis in the world? And how much destruction did they cause?

This disaster does not fit any of the previously described incidents on the sea coast. To date, the megatsunami in Lituya Bay has become the largest and most destructive in the world. Until now, eminent luminaries in the field of oceanology and seismology are arguing about the possibility of repeating such a nightmare.

Lituya Bay is located in Alaska and extends eleven kilometers inland, its maximum width does not exceed three kilometers. Two glaciers descend into the bay, which became the unwitting creators huge wave. The 1958 tsunami in Alaska was caused by an earthquake that occurred on July 9th. The power of the shocks exceeded eight points, which caused a huge landslide into the waters of the bay. Scientists have calculated that thirty million fell into the water in a few seconds. cubic meters ice and stones. Parallel to the landslide, the subglacial lake sank thirty meters, from which released water masses rushed into the bay.

A huge wave rushed onto the coast and circled the bay several times. The height of the tsunami wave reached five hundred meters, the raging elements completely demolished the trees on the rocks along with the soil. This wave is currently the highest in human history. Amazing fact is that only five people died as a result of the powerful tsunami. The fact is that there are no residential settlements in the bay; at the time the wave arrived in Lituya there were only three fishing boats. One of them, along with the crew, immediately sank, and the other was lifted by a wave to its maximum height and carried out into the ocean.

Indian Ocean avalanche 2004

The 2004 Thailand tsunami shocked everyone on the planet. As a result of the destructive wave, more than two hundred thousand people died. The cause of the disaster was an earthquake in the Sumatra region on December 26, 2004. The tremors lasted no more than ten minutes and exceeded nine points on the Richter scale.

A thirty-meter wave swept with enormous speed throughout the Indian Ocean and went around it, stopping near Peru. Almost all island countries were affected by the tsunami, including India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

Having killed several hundred thousand people, the 2004 tsunami in Thailand left behind destroyed homes, hotels and several thousand local residents who died as a result of infections and poor-quality drinking water. At the moment, this tsunami is considered the largest in the twenty-first century.

Severo-Kurilsk: tsunami in the USSR

The list of “The largest tsunamis in the world” must include the wave that hit the Kuril Islands in the middle of the last century. An earthquake in the Pacific Ocean caused a twenty-meter wave. The epicenter of the earthquake with a magnitude of seven was located one hundred and thirty kilometers from the coast.

The first wave arrived in the city about an hour later, but most local residents were in shelter on higher ground away from the city. No one warned them that a tsunami was a series of waves, so all the townspeople returned to their homes after the first one. A few hours later, the second and third waves hit Severo-Kurilsk. Their height reached eighteen meters, they almost completely destroyed the city. More than two thousand people died as a result of the cataclysm.

Rogue wave in Chile

In the second half of the last century, Chileans faced a terrifying tsunami that killed more than three thousand people. The cause of the giant waves was the most powerful earthquake in the history of mankind, its magnitude exceeded nine and a half points.

A wave twenty-five meters high covered Chile fifteen minutes after the first shocks. In one day, it covered several thousand kilometers, destroying the coasts of Hawaii and Japan.

Despite the fact that humanity has been “familiar” with tsunamis for quite some time, this a natural phenomenon still remains poorly studied. Scientists have not learned to predict the appearance of rogue waves, so, most likely, in the future the list of their victims will be replenished with new deaths.

Why are there waves at sea?

Wind

The most obvious cause of waves is wind. The stronger the wind, the higher the waves. The waves in the oceans are higher than in the seas. In the vastness of the ocean, hurricane winds raise mountains of water the size of multi-storey building.

According to the Beaufort scale, the maximum wind and waves corresponding to 12 points of this scale are when the wind is more than 32.6 m/sec (which is more than 117 km/h!) and the waves are higher than 16 meters.

The highest wind speed on Earth is 408 km/h, it was recorded on April 10, 1996 in Australia, during Hurricane Olivia.

At the same time, scientists, relying on indirect evidence, suggest that inside the craters of the most powerful tornadoes, wind speeds exceed 1,300 km/h.

Earthquake

Somewhere at the junction of tectonic plates, a fault occurred, one plate rose relative to the other by a meter or more. Happened strong earthquake. The entire layer of water above this place (a kilometer, or even more) rose by this very meter. He rose up and a tsunami started in all directions from the earthquake site. Almost imperceptible in the ocean, when approaching the shore in a shallow place, the wave begins to grow - after all, that entire initial kilometer of depth tends to rise. The energy of a kilometer-long layer of water turns into a multi-meter tsunami that hits the shores.

Scientists claim that the explosion of the Krakatoa volcano generated a 32-meter wave that caused widespread destruction and the death of many thousands of people living too close to the explosion site. And in our time, in place of Krakatau, a new mountain Anak-Krakatau (son of Krakatau) has already grown, and it is almost the size of daddy. If this volcano mountain explodes with the same force as its parent in 1883, then with a tsunami of the same height, human losses will amount to tens of millions of lives, and destruction will be estimated at many tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars.

Rogue waves (rogue waves)

Among the tales of sailors, in addition to sirens, giant octopuses, killer sperm whales and other fears, they talked about “rogue waves.” Like, a ship is sailing on the ocean. Calm. Water is like a mirror, not a wrinkle. And suddenly! There is a wave 40 meters high, sweeping away everything and everyone in its path. Where did it start? Where did it end? Unknown.

Scientists didn't believe in it. And ships disappeared from time to time. And then, on January 1, 1995, in oil platform The Dropner, located in the North Sea, was hit by a wave 25.6 meters high. This wave was called the “Dropner wave.” Having received the first material evidence of the existence of rogue waves, scientists began research from satellites. Radars were installed on research satellites, and in just a few months of a total survey of all the oceans of the world, more than ten waves with a height of more than 25 meters were discovered.

You can be sure that some of the missing ships sank to the bottom after being hit by just such a wave.

The Wave Atlas project is currently underway, within the framework of which such waves are constantly monitored and statistical processing data on rogue waves.

Of the most last meetings people with such waves: in 1995, the Queen Elizabeth 2 liner in the North Atlantic encountered a wave over 29 meters high, which suddenly appeared directly ahead of it.

But the highest waves resulted from a splash from large masses falling into the water. Pieces of rocks, pieces of glacier...

In 1958, a strong earthquake occurred on the west coast of Canada, causing a huge glacier and masses of soil to fall into the water. This happened in Lithaya Bay, which is shaped like a Norwegian fjord. This bay is deep, long and narrow. It was a great luck that it was practically uninhabited at that time.

The fall of huge masses of ice and stone into the water from a great height caused a monstrous wave that terribly lashed the forest on the shores of the bay. The crews of two longboats witnessed the terrible event. The longboat that was further away managed to ride the wave and it threw it over a multi-meter rocky isthmus into the open ocean. When it hit the water, the longboat developed a strong leak and eventually sank. The crew, fortunately, was saved. The second longboat was closer. Nothing was found from him. And his crew disappeared without a trace.

Scientists examined the traces of waves. The forest was uprooted many hundreds of meters into the air. The wave reached - and left its traces - at an altitude of 524 meters. Scientists explored the slopes of the bay above and found traces of ancient waves at an altitude of up to 600 meters!

So it turns out that if a sufficiently large mass falls into the water, the height of the splash is many times greater than the height of the tsunami resulting from a powerful earthquake.

Most common cause The appearance of waves in the oceans and seas is wind: gusts of air move surface layers of water at a certain speed. Thus, the wind can accelerate the wave at a speed of 95 km/h, and the raised water column can reach 300 meters in length. Such waves are capable of covering gigantic distances, but, as a rule, wave energy is extinguished in the ocean, being consumed long before land. When the wind subsides, the waves in the ocean become smaller and smoother.

Patterns of wave formation

The length and height of the wave depend not only on the wind speed. The influence of the duration of exposure to wind is also great, and it also matters how much of the territory was covered by it. There is a natural correspondence: the maximum wave height is 1/7 of its length. For example, a breeze with a strength above average creates waves whose height reaches 3 meters, a hurricane, which has a large area, raises waves to approximately 20 m.

Formation of a large wave

In 1933, sailors of the American ship Ramapo in the South African Agulhas Current noted the highest normal wave - it reached a height of 34 m. Waves of this height are popularly called "rogue waves", since even a large ship can easily fall through and get lost in the distances between their ridges. Theoretically, the height of such ordinary waves can reach 60 m, but in practice such waves have never been recorded.

In addition to the normal, that is, wind-driven origin of waves, other causes of wave generation are known:

  • earthquake
  • eruption
  • large meteorites falling into the ocean
  • landslides leading to a sharp change in the coastline
  • trial nuclear weapons or other human activity

Tsunami

Tsunamis have the largest waves. In essence, it is a serial wave caused by a certain impulse of enormous power. Tsunami waves have enough great length, the gaps between the peaks can reach more than 10 km. For this reason, a tsunami in the open ocean is not a great danger, since the height of the waves rarely reaches 20 cm, only in some (record) cases they can reach 1.5 m. But the speed of a tsunami develops enormously - the waves travel at a speed of 800 km/h. In the open sea, such waves are almost impossible to notice from the ship. Tsunami waves acquire their monstrous strength as they approach coastline. Reflecting from the shore, the waves are compressed in length, but their destructive energy does not disappear anywhere. As a result, the wave amplitude - their height - increases. Of course, such waves are much more dangerous than wind waves, since they reach much higher heights.

The most terrifying tsunamis are caused by significant disturbances in the topography of the ocean floor. These could be tectonic shifts or faults, when they occur, billions of tons of water at a speed jet plane moves over enormous distances (tens of thousands of kilometers). And this happens suddenly, immediately. A catastrophe is inevitable when a multibillion-dollar mass of water reaches the shore. Then the colossal energy of the waves is first directed to increase the amplitude, and then hits the coast with an entire powerful wall of water.


2004 Sumatra tsunami

Bays with high shores are most often susceptible to dangerous tsunamis. Such places are real traps for serial waves. What is characteristic and at the same time scary is that a tsunami almost always strikes suddenly, visually the sea can be the same as during low tides, high tides or an ordinary storm, so people do not even think about timely evacuation. Unfortunately, special warning systems for the approach of giant waves have not been developed everywhere.

Seismically active areas are also tsunami risk zones. The word “tsunami” itself is of Japanese origin, since earthquakes are very frequent here and waves of different scales and sizes constantly attack the islands. There are also real giants among them, and they lead to human casualties. The 2011 earthquake, which occurred in the east of Honshu Island, generated a powerful tsunami up to 40 m high. Japan has never known such earthquakes. The disaster had horrific consequences: the monstrous power of the wave dealt severe blows throughout east coast islands, which took the lives of over 15 thousand people along with the earthquake; several thousand people are considered missing to this day.

A large-scale disaster on the islands of Java and Sumatra in 2004 turned into a tsunami, which was generated by a powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean. By various sources Between 200 and 300 thousand people died - that’s 1/3 of a million. Today, the Indian Ocean tsunami is recognized as the most destructive in the world.

The record holder for wave amplitude was tsunami "Lituya" which happened in 1958. It swept across Lituya Bay in Alaska at a speed of 160 km/h. The cause of the world's highest tsunami was a gigantic landslide. The wave height reached 524 m.

Giant waves are called "tsunamis". They enormous height and widths that arise in the ocean under the influence of water (most often due to earthquakes). The word itself comes from Japanese language, where it consists of two hieroglyphs - “wave” and “bay”. It was Japan and other countries with access to the Pacific Ocean that became victims of rogue waves. The Pacific region witnessed a world wave that hit the coast of American Alaska.

Top 1. Tsunami in Lituya Bay, 1958

Lituya Bay is located in the northeastern part of the Gulf of Alaska. The bay is separated from the ocean outlet by a strait about 500 meters wide. Lituya Bay is about 11 kilometers long and about 3 kilometers wide. In the center of the bay is the Cenotaph Island.

The disaster was provoked by the earthquake that took place on July 9, 1958. It caused a rockfall on the Gilbert Glacier northeast of the bay. About 30 million cubic meters of rock and ice fell into eastern part bay from an altitude of about 900 meters. The tsunami caused by the rockfall hit both shores of the bay and Cenotaph Island. The La Gaussy spit, located near the epicenter of the wave, was washed away almost completely. The wave height was 524 meters. The tsunami uprooted most of the trees in the area.

Five people became victims of the huge wave. Two of them were caught by the tsunami on a fishing boat. The people who went out into the bay on two more ships on that fateful day miraculously survived and were picked up by rescuers.

Top 2. Indian Ocean, 2004

The 2004 tsunami went down in history as the deadliest - more than 230 thousand people became victims of nature's wrath. The giant wave began with an underwater earthquake of magnitude 9. The tsunami waves that hit the land reached a height of thirty meters.

Radar satellites recorded an underwater tsunami, whose height after the earthquake was about 60 centimeters. Unfortunately, these observations could not help prevent disaster because it took several hours to process the data.

Sea waves reached the coast different countries at different times. The first shock immediately after the earthquake hit the north of the island of Sumatra. The tsunami reached Sri Lanka and India only an hour and a half later. Two hours later, the waves hit the shores of Thailand.

Tsunami waves led to casualties in the countries of East Africa: Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania. Sixteen hours later, the waves reached the town of Struisbaa on the coast of South Africa. A little later, tidal waves up to a meter high were recorded in the area of ​​a Japanese research station in Antarctica.

Part of the tsunami energy escaped into the Pacific Ocean, where tidal waves were recorded on the coasts of Canada, British Columbia, and Mexico. In some places their height reached 2 and a half meters, which exceeded the waves recorded off the coast of some countries located closer to the epicenter.

Those most affected by the tsunami were:

  • Indonesia. Three waves hit the northern part of the island of Sumatra less than half an hour after the earthquake. According to survivors, the waves were higher than the houses.
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India), where more than 4 thousand people died.
  • Sri Lanka. The waves reached a height of 12 meters. Became a victim of the tsunami passenger train"Queen of the Seacoast" His death was the largest train accident modern history and claimed more than 1,700 lives.
  • Thailand. Waves, the height of which was second only to those that hit Sumatra, destroyed the southwestern coast of the country. There were many tourists from other countries at the scene of the tragedy. More than three thousand people died and another five thousand were missing.

Top 3. Japan, 2011

In March 2011, an underwater earthquake occurred in the ocean east of the island of Honshu. It triggered a tsunami wave that devastated the coast of Honshu and other islands of the archipelago. The waves reached the opposite shore Pacific Ocean. In coastal areas South American countries evacuation was announced, but the waves did not pose much of a threat.

The waves reached the islands of the Kuril chain. The Ministry of Emergency Situations evacuated several thousand Russian citizens from the coastal areas of the islands. Waves up to three meters high were recorded near the village of Malokurilskoye.

The first waves of the tsunami hit the Japanese archipelago within half an hour of completion. The highest height was recorded near the city of Miyako (northern Honshu) - 40 meters. The coast took the heaviest blows within an hour after the earthquake.

The tsunami damaged three Japanese prefectures in Honshu. The cataclysm also provoked an accident at a nuclear power plant. The city of Rikuzentakata was actually washed away into the ocean - almost all the buildings went under water. The 2011 tragedy claimed the lives of more than 15 thousand residents of the Japanese archipelago.

Probably, the sparse population of the state of Alaska was the reason why the most a big wave in the world did not lead to mass casualties. Nowadays, the system for monitoring earthquakes and tsunamis has been improved, which makes it possible to reduce the number of victims during disasters. But coastal communities remain at risk from the ocean's unpredictable behavior.

Waves, their beauty, continuous movement and variability never cease to amaze people.

It is important to understand that changes in the ocean occur every second, the waves in it are infinitely different and unique.

Successful surfing is impossible without understanding how waves appear and propagate, what changes their speed, strength, shape, and height.

First, let's understand the terminology.

Anatomy of a wave

The periodic oscillation of water relative to the equilibrium position is called a wave.

She has the following elements:

  • sole– lower plane;
  • crest(linden, from English lip - lip);
  • front– ridge line;
  • pipe(tube/barrel) – the area where the ridge meets the sole;
  • wall(wall) – the inclined part along which the surfer glides;
  • shoulder– the area where the wall becomes flat;
  • peak– point of incidence of the wave;
  • impactzone- the place where the linden falls.


The variability of waves makes them extremely difficult to measure. Fluctuations are assessed using several parameters.

Height– distance from the sole to the ridge. It is measured in different ways. Reports for surfers indicate differences in the fluctuations of weather buoys. Sometimes the wave height is indicated in " growth».

Since the athlete glides over the wave while bending over, 1 “height” is approximately 1.5 meters.

Length– the distance between adjacent ridges.

Steepness– ratio of height to wavelength.

Period– time between two waves in a group (set).

Reasons and features of wave formation

Contrary to naive ideas, a sea or ocean wave is not formed by coastal winds. The most common waves form far out in the ocean.

The wind, blowing for a long time in one direction, swings huge masses of water, sometimes the size of a multi-story building. Large winds form in the extremely low pressure, characteristic of an anticyclone.

When there is a moderate wind, cool short waves - “lamb”.

At the nascent stage two dimensional waves, whose height does not exceed their length, run in parallel elongated rows of ridges. As the wind increases, the ridges disappear and the wavelength increases faster.

When wave and wind speeds are equalized, the growth of crests stops. From this moment on, the speed, length and period of the waves increase, and their height and steepness decrease. Such long waves more suitable for.

As the storm grows, younger waves overlap older ones, and the sea seems disordered. When it reaches its peak, the waves become as long as possible, with extended fronts. Wherein the length of the ridges can increase to hundreds of meters(record – up to 1 km).

Waves whose crest size exceeds the wavelength several times are called three-dimensional. Most often, three-dimensional waves consist of alternating “hills,” “bumps,” and “valleys.” Waves come in sets (groups) of 2–10. Most often, 3. Usually medium wave- the highest and most correct in the set.

What the wind moves

Any new wave raises and then lowers water masses.

Interesting fact: water particles do not move horizontally, but along irregular shape a circle or ellipse perpendicular to the wave front.

In fact, the trajectory of water particles resembles loops: the intense rotation of the “water wheel” is superimposed on a weak forward movement in the direction of the wind.

This is how the wave profile is formed: its windward slope is gentle, and its leeward slope is steep.

Because of this, the ridges collapse, forming foam.

It is not the mass of water that moves during the wind, but the profile of the wave. So, lost by surfer will swing back and forth, up and down, slowly moving towards the shore.

What sets the wave parameters

They depend on the speed, duration of the wind, changes in its directions; on the depth of the reservoir, the wave acceleration length.

Last determined by the size of the water area.

The wind action must be sufficient to cover the entire space.

That's why stable waves for usually found on the ocean coast.

When wind speed changes and direction changes more than 45 degrees, old oscillations slow down, then a new system waves

Swells

Having reached maximum dimensions, the waves set off on a journey to the shores. They're leveling out: the smaller ones are absorbed by the larger ones, the slow ones are absorbed by the fast ones.

An array of waves of the same size and power generated by a storm is called swell. The path of a swell to the shore can last thousands of kilometers.

Distinguish wind And bottom swells.

  • First not suitable for surfing: the waves in it will not travel a long distance and will break at great depths.
  • Second– just what you need, its long fast waves will go a long way and will be steeper when breaking.

Swells differ in amplitude and period. Longer period means better and smoother waves.

In Bali, wind swells are waves with a period of less than 11 seconds. From 16 seconds - excellent waves, a period of 18 seconds - luck, which surfing professionals flock to catch.

For each spot the optimal direction of the swell is known, in which high-quality waves are formed.

Wave crashing

Moving towards the shore, bumping into shallows, reefs, islands, the waves gradually waste their former power.

The longer the distance from the center of the storm, the weaker they are.

When meeting shallow rolling water water masses nowhere to go they are moving up.

The period of the waves decreases, they seem to compress, slow down, become shorter and steeper. This is how a surf wave grows.

Finally, the crests capsize and the waves collapse or break. How more difference depths, the steeper and higher the wave will be!

It occurs near reefs, rocks, sunken ships, on a steep sandbank.

Ridge growth starts at depth equal to half wave height.

Wind directions

get up at dawn to
ride in calm water on smooth water - this is the perfect setting.

The quality of the waves depends on the coastal wind; some of the highest quality are .

  1. Onshore- wind blowing ashore from the ocean.
  2. It “blows away” the crests, crushes the waves, and as a result they become lumpy; does not allow them to “get up”.

    Onshore causes waves to close early. This worst for surfing wind, it can ruin your entire ride.

    It is dangerous when the wind and swell directions coincide.

  3. Offshore– wind from the shore towards the ocean.
  4. If it does not come in gusts, it gives the waves correct form, “lifts” them and postpones the moment of collapse.

    It's the wind ideal for surfing.

  5. Crossshore– wind along the coast.
  6. It doesn't improve, but sometimes it spoils a lot wave front.

Types of waves

Closeout– a closed wave that breaks immediately along its entire length, therefore unsuitable for riding.

Gentle waves do not differ in speed and steepness. With a slight slope, the bottoms slowly break without forming a high wall and pipe, so recommended for beginners.

Plunging waves– powerful, fast, high waves that occur when there is a sharp change in depth. Create opportunities for tricks. Cavities are formed inside - pipes, allowing passages inside.

Preferred for professionals, are dangerous for beginners - they are more likely to fall from them.

Types of surf spots

The place where the wave rises is called surf spot. The nature of the wave is determined by the features of the seabed.

  • Beach-break– the place where the waves break on the sandy bottom. In an area with different depths, the wave bends and collapses towards the shallows. This creates the opportunity for the surfer to glide along the water wall.

Video

Watch a video about a surfer conquering a giant wave: