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When the waves come closer to the land they rub against the sea floor, and friction causes the waves to slow down and build up from behind creating huge piles of water to crash on the land

A tsunami spreads out from an earthquake's epicenter and speeds across the ocean. In the open ocean, the height of the wave is low. As a tsunami approaches shallow water, the wave grows into a mountain of water.

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Duane O'Hara

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2y ago
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Wiki User

13y ago

The reason for this is that as you get closer and closer to shore, there is less depth an the water is more shallow. With a tsunami, the water displaced by the rising ocean floor creates bigger, taller waves. Some tsunamis are only inches high in the middle of the ocean, but can become much larger approaching land.

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Wiki User

9y ago

When the waves come closer to the land they rub against the sea floor, and friction causes the waves to slow down and build up from behind creating huge piles of water to crash on the land

A tsunami spreads out from an earthquake's epicenter and speeds across the ocean. In the open ocean, the height of the wave is low. As a tsunami approaches shallow water, the wave grows into a mountain of water.

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Wiki User

11y ago

The Tsunami waves got bigger (or higher) as they approached land because the swells of water rise up as the seafloor gets shallower.
it gets higher when it gets closer to shore and gets ready to crest.

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Wiki User

16y ago

They don't. It's just the wave speed/energy is converted to height as the depth of the sea bed lessens.

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Wiki User

13y ago

They grow larger because as they travel across the ocean they pick up more water thus resulting in a larger wave.

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Wiki User

14y ago

The seafloor is shallower and the frequency of the wave increases, thus pushing the water up into the air.

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Wiki User

11y ago

Because they feel like it.

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Q: Why did the tsunami get bigger as it approached land?
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