Tsunami Waves Can Travel as Fast as a Jet Plane

A tsunami crossing the open ocean is extremely fast. NOAA’s National Ocean Service states that tsunami waves may travel as fast as jet planes over deep waters, only slowing down when reaching shallow waters. The speed is tied to depth. According to NOAA, the speed of tsunami waves depends on ocean depth and not on the distance from the source of the wave. That is why the waves slow as the sea floor rises towards a coast. NOAA also corrects a common name. Tsunamis are often referred to as tidal waves, but this name is discouraged by oceanographers, because tides have little to do with these giant waves. A tsunami and a tide are different things with different causes.