• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Universe / Why Do Waves Break?

Why Do Waves Break?

February 27, 2020 by Karen Hill

Waves in the deep parts of the sea move like ripples on the surface of the water. When they near land and enter shallow water, they slow down, because deep water always moves faster than shallow water.

Waves also grow higher as they near a shore, for in effect the sea bottom is “rising” as the water gets shallower, pushing the crest of the wave above the surface of the water.

As waves approach land, they move more quickly than the troughs, the spaces between wave crests, because the waves are deeper than the troughs.

Eventually, a wave “catches up” to the trough in front of it and topples over, or “breaks,” spilling its water up onto the beach in the form of foamy white surf.

Related Facts

  • How Does Wind Create Waves In the Sea and What Determines the Amplitude and Frequency of Ocean Swells?
  • How Far Do Waves In the Ocean Travel Before They Lose Energy and Why Do Waves Get Smaller After a While?
  • Why do Waves Always Break Parallel To the Shore?
  • How Is Sea Salt Better Than Regular Table Salt?
  • What was the European Age of Exploration?
  • How Do Oceanographers Determine the Average Depth Of the Ocean When Waves and Tides Affect the Measurements?

Filed Under: Universe

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Is a Tidal Wave?
Next Post: How Does Rain Keep the Earth Dry? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy