Tsunami waves become increasingly dangerous as
they approach and strike land.
A
tsunami is a series of very long
ocean waves. The distance from one
crest
to the next can be as much as
miles ( km). The name
tsunami
comes from the Japanese words
tsu
,
meaning “harbor,” and
nami
, meaning
“waves.” Tsunami waves can grow to be
as tall as a -story building.
THE SCIENCE
BEHIND TSUNAMIS
CHAPTER 2
11
