By Nicola Hannah and Emma Hamilton Tsunami By Nicola Hannah and Emma Hamilton

What is a tsunami? A tsunami is a long, high sea wave caused by an earthquake or other disturbance. an arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities or amounts.

I would describe a tsunami as a giant wave that is caused by an earthquake or disturbance, it could do a lot of damage and kill a lot of people.

Tsunamis can have wavelengths ranging from 10 to 500 km and wave periods of up to an hour. As a result of their long wavelengths, tsunamis act as shallow-water waves. A wave becomes a shallow-water wave when the wavelength is very large compared to the water depth. Shallow-water waves move at a speed, c, that is dependent upon the water depth and is given by the formula:

What causes a tsunami A tsunami is a series of large waves generated by an abrupt movement on the ocean floor that can result from an earthquake, an underwater landslide, a volcanic eruption or - very rarely - a large meteorite strike. However, powerful undersea earthquakes are responsible for most tsunamis.