A huge ocean wave known as a tsunami occurs when there is an unexpected movement on the ground of the ocean. The tsunami sweeps across the ocean at a very fast speed, which results in massive waves hitting the shoreline with a deadly force. The movement can be causeb by an earthquake, volcano eruption or a landslide that happens on the ocean floor; even a meteorite slamming into the ground could be responsible for triggering a tsunami.

The majority of tsunamis are created when an earthquake occurs in a subduction area of the bottom of the ocean. This causes the oceanic plate below the ocean to be pushed down against the mantle by the force of plate tectonics. This produces a vast friction amid the subducting plate and the overriding plate causing the two plates to slowly lodge together. The consequence of this occurrence is a collection of energy over a long extended amount of time that becomes similar to spring loaded energy.

A tsunami is then triggered when a sudden force of motion is caused when the energy gathers in the overriding plate and then surpasses the frictional strength sandwiched amid both of the stuck plates. This causes the overriding plate to spontaneously release back into an uncontrolled position, which pushes out strong waves from the impact of the earthquake. The waves travel at a rapid pace until they spillover on the shoreline with a deadly force. Contrasting to what many individuals visualize as one enormous destructive wave, a tsunami produces numerous forceful, devastating train-like waves.