How waves break

Find out what happens when the ocean meets the shore

Waves are formed when the wind blows over the surface of the sea. Energy from the wind sets particles in the water rotating around each other, creating a wave that can roll for several kilometres. When the wave reaches the shore and the water becomes shallower, friction from the seabed begins to slow it down. It loses energy from the bottom first, causing it to bunch up on itself and get taller until the back of the wave overtakes the rest and breaks into whitewash. On gently sloping shores the wave simply spills over, but steep slopes create dramatic crashing waves.