THE CAUSES OF TSUNAMI

Sulafah Ansya Saskiyah

XP4
What is TSUNAMI ?
Tsunamis, also called seismic sea waves or, incorrectly, tidal waves, generally are caused by
earthquakes, less commonly by submarine landslides, infrequently by submarine volcanic
eruptions and very rarely by a large meteorite impact in the ocean. Submarine volcanic
eruptions have the potential to produce truly awesome tsunami waves. The Great Krakatau
Volcanic Eruption of 1883 generated giant waves reaching heights of 125 feet above sea-level,
killing thousands of people and wiping out numerous coastal villages.

The causes of tsunami is RING OF FIRE
About two-thirds of the earth is covered by the waters of the four oceans. The Pacific Ocean is
the world's largest, covering more than one third of the total surface area of our planet. The
Pacific Ocean is surrounded by a series of mountain chains, deep ocean trenches and island arcs,
sometimes called a "ring of fire." The great size of the Pacific Ocean and the large earthquakes
associated with the "ring of fire" combine to produce deadly tsunamis.
In less than a day, these tsunamis can travel from one side of the Pacific to the other. However,
people living near areas where large earthquakes occur may find that the tsunami waves will
reach their shores within minutes of the earthquake. For these reasons, the tsunami threat to
many areas (Alaska, the Philippines, Japan or the U.S. West Coast) can be immediate (for
tsunamis from nearby earthquakes taking only a few minutes to reach coastal areas) or less
urgent (for tsunamis from distant earthquakes taking from 3 to 22 hours to reach coastal areas).









THE CAUSES OF TSUNAMI
Retno Choirunisa
XP4
The causes of tsunami is EARTHQUAKE
The continents and sea floor that cover the earth's surface are part of a world-wide system of
plates that are in motion. These motions are very slow, only an inch or two per year. Earthquakes
occur where the edges of plates run into one another. Such edges are called fault lines or faults.
Sometimes the forces along faults can build-up over long periods of time so that when the rocks
finally break an earthquake occurs. Examples of features produced by forces released along plate
edge faults are the Andes Mountains in South America (on land) and the Aleutian Trench near
Alaska (under water). When powerful, rapid faulting occurs underneath or near the ocean, a large
earthquake is produced and, possibly, a tsunami.
The deep ocean trenches off the coasts of Alaska, the Kuril Islands, Russia,, and South America
are well known for their violent underwater earthquakes and as the source area for destructive
Pacific-wide tsunamis.
The tsunami generating process is more complicated than a sudden push against the column of
ocean water. The earthquake's magnitude and depth, water depth in the region of tsunami
generation, the amount of vertical motion of the sea floor, the velocity of such motion, whether
there is coincident slumping of sediments and the efficiency with which energy is transferred
from the earth's crust to ocean water are all part of the generation mechanism.