Tsunami Generation

The creation of a series of long-wavelength ocean waves by the sudden displacement of a large volume of water, most commonly triggered by an undersea earthquake but also by volcanic eruptions, submarine landslides or, rarely, a large meteorite impact. Unlike ordinary wind-driven waves, a tsunami involves the movement of the entire water column and can travel across an ocean basin at the speed of a jet aircraft before slowing and rising to devastating height as it reaches shallow coastal water.