This wave is breaking over the top of the surfer because the top half of the wave is travelling faster than the bottom half. The bottom of the wave slows down, and soon, the top of the wave is going faster than the bottom part of the wave, so the top spills forward and topples over in a big splash. Waves do the same thing and that is when they break.ДЄs waves approach the shore, the water is shallower, and the bottom of the wave starts to feel the sand and rocks and seaweed. Your feet would slow down, but the top half of your body would still be going fast. But then suddenly, you ran into thick gloopy mud. ThatвЂ™s why there are still waves at the beach, even when it is not windy. They will keep travelling away from where they were created in a straight line, sometimes for days, until they run into something like a beach where they are stopped because they break. If the wind stops, or changes direction, the waves will stop growing, but they wonвЂ™t stop travelling. The further the wind blows (or the bigger the area of the storm), the bigger the waves will grow.ДЄnd the longer the wind blows (like in a storm that lasts a long time), the bigger the waves will grow. The faster the wind blows (like in a strong storm out at sea), the bigger the waves will grow. Taro Taylor/Flickr, CC BYД¬urious Kids: How does the Moon, being so far away, affect the tides on Earth? A big wave lands at Dee Why Beach in Sydney.

Ocean waves definition