Book 4, Question 86
Why Do Waves Keep Coming?
Most waves are wind energy traveling through water! The water mostly just goes up and down. It's the energy that keeps rolling toward the shore.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 4
More fun facts
- Ocean waves are bumps moving across the surface of the water.
- Most waves are made by wind, but earthquakes and undersea landslides can make waves too.
- Waves can travel very long distances before they reach the coast.
- A wave reaching the beach today may have started hours or even days earlier, on the other side of the world.
- Waves range from tiny ripples less than a centimeter long to the tides, which stretch halfway around Earth.
- Satellites in space measure how tall ocean waves are.
Sources: NASA
Questions kids ask
Will the waves ever stop?
As long as wind blows over the ocean, new waves keep forming. That is why they keep rolling in.