is there a difference between tsunami and tidal wave??
Mar 19, 2010
in
Tsunami
some says tsunami is just a Japanese term of tidal wave..
some says tsunami is bigger than tidal wave…
some says tsunami is caused by earthquake, landslide, eruptions, etc.. and tidal wave is caused by the moons gravitation… i believe in this statement.. because the word tide in high tide and low tide is there.. and it is cause by the moon’s gravity… if so… how does pulling of the moon’s gravity makes the tidal wave??
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3 comments
Now and Then Comes a Thought on March 19, 2010 at 7:00 pm
In common usage, people say "tidal wave" when they mean tsunami. In reality, most of those people don’t have an idea what an actual tidal wave is.
A tsunami is caused sudden movements of mass, such as the earthquakes etc you mentioned. The only tsunami I have ever seen in person was less than a foot high, which is actually pretty typical. Of course, the ones you see on the news are much, much bigger.
A tidal wave gets its energy from the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. The most dramatic are called bore tides. I often watched the one on Turnagain Arm in Alaska when I lived there. The waves were usually several feet tall where I went. Here is more information on one of the very few regular bore tides in the world: http://alaska.org/bore-tides.jsp
elyslund on March 19, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Tsunami can be well over 200 feet high…caused by earthquakes and undersea volcanic activity.
Tidal waves can get high, but nowhere NEAR as high as a tsunami.
The moon’s gravity can cause tremendous tidal ranges in some parts of the world.
Andy R on March 19, 2010 at 7:00 pm
No, A tsunami is the same thing as a tital wave but the name was changed a few years ago. when you thinkof tital wave you think it came from the tides. right so they just renamed it.