8. Tsunamis: The Wave Height Grows as It reaches the Shore (C103)

In the deep ocean, a tsunami may be more than 100 km (about 62 mi) long but less than 1 m (about 3 ft) high. These waves pass under ships without being noticed. But when a tsunami reaches a shore, friction with the ocean bottom slows the wave. This causes the wave to grow to as much as 25 m (about 82 ft), destroying everything in its path.