Speed of a wave

[Peter Pedant]

Has anyone got a link, about water waves and speed of propagation? Having only seen the Severn Bore, I think a tsunami speed of hundreds of miles an hours is on the high size. The videos of the waves once it had landed seemed only a few metres a second. (sorry to mix my units)

[Clanad]

http://www.abelard.org/news/science0412.php

http://quake.usgs.gov/tsunami/basics.html

These both explain the phenomena...

[brachiopod]

Very briefly, wave velocity deceases as the water becomes shallower, causing an increase in amplitude (wave height).

Out in the oceans, tsunami travel at high velocities but have a long wavelength and small amplitude - often being unnoticable to shipping as they pass.