tidal wave, term properly applied to the crest of a tide tide, alternate and regular rise and fall of sea level in oceans and other large bodies of water. These changes are caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and, to a lesser extent, of the sun on the earth.
..... Click the link for more information. as it moves around the earth. The wavelike upstream rush of water caused by the incoming tide in some locations is known as a tidal bore bore, inrush of water that advances upstream with a wavelike front, caused by the progress of incoming tide from a wide-mouthed bay into its narrower portion.
..... Click the link for more information. . In popular usage the term tidal wave also is often applied to any destructive wave or to high water not related to tidal phenomena. These latter waves are of two types: tsunamis tsunami (ts
..... Click the link for more information. , which are waves caused by earthquakes earthquake, trembling or shaking movement of the earth's surface. Most earthquakes are minor tremors. Larger earthquakes usually begin with slight tremors but rapidly take the form of one or more violent shocks, and end in vibrations of gradually diminishing force
..... Click the link for more information. , and storm surges (see under storm storm surge, sometimes called a tidal wave, is a flood of ocean or lake water that occurs in areas subject to tropical storms and bordering on shallow waters, but any strong low-pressure system in a coastal area, such as a northeaster along the Atlantic coast of North America, may
..... Click the link for more information. ).

tsunami

or seismic sea wave or tidal wave

Catastrophic ocean wave, usually caused by a submarine earthquake. Underwater or coastal landslides or volcanic eruptions also may cause tsunamis. The term tsunami is Japanese for “harbour wave.” The term tidal wave is a misnomer, because the wave has no connection with the tides. Perhaps the most destructive tsunami ever occurred in 2004 in the Indian Ocean, after an earthquake struck the seafloor off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. More than 200,000 people were killed in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and other countries as far away as Somalia on the Horn of Africa.

tidal wave

1. a name (not accepted in technical usage) for tsunami

2. an unusually large incoming wave, often caused by high winds and spring tides

tidal wave [′tīd·əl ‚wāv]

(oceanography)

Any unusually high and generally destructive sea wave or water level along a shore.

tide wave

tidal wave (redirected from Tidal waves)

tsunami

tidal wave
(redirected from Tidal waves)