A TSUNAMI (PLURAL: TSUNAMIS OR TSUNAMI; FROM JAPANESE: 津波, LIT. "HARBOUR WAVE";[1] ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION: /SUːˈNⱭːMI/ SOO-NAH-MEE OR /TSUːˈNⱭːMI/ TSOO-NAH-MEE[2]) , ALSO KNOWN AS A SEISMIC SEA WAVE, IS A SERIES OF WATER WAVES CAUSED BY THE DISPLACEMENT OF A LARGE VOLUME OF A BODY OF WATER, GENERALLY AN OCEAN OR A LARGE LAKE. EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS AND OTHER UNDERWATER EXPLOSIONS (INCLUDING DETONATIONS OF UNDERWATER NUCLEAR DEVICES), LANDSLIDES, GLACIER CALVINGS, METEORITE IMPACTS AND OTHER DISTURBANCES ABOVE OR BELOW WATER ALL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A TSUNAMI.[3] TSUNAMI WAVES DO NOT RESEMBLE NORMAL SEA WAVES, BECAUSE THEIR WAVELENGTH IS FAR LONGER. RATHER THAN APPEARING AS A BREAKING WAVE, A TSUNAMI MAY INSTEAD INITIALLY RESEMBLE A RAPIDLY RISING TIDE, AND FOR THIS REASON THEY ARE OFTEN REFERRED TO AS TIDAL WAVES.
