Tsunamis are a series of tidal waves that are caused by displacement of very large bodies of water typically oceans and seas. These tidal waves can be caused by massive landslides, volcanic eruptions beneath the ocean, tectonic earthquakes that happen beneath the oceans surface can cause tsunamis, as well as meteorite ocean impacts. When tsunamis are generally formed offshore they are usually unoticable, thats because offshore the tsunamis amplitude(heigth)is only a few inches above sea level, and its wavelength is usually a few hundred kilometers long. When the tsunami gets in shallower waters is when the actual tidal waves are formed, which can form from a 46 ft high surge like that recorded in alaska in 1946, and the largest ever recorded was also in Alaska in 1958 caused by a huge landslide that produced swells up to 1700 ft high. Such tsunamis can devour islands and cities along coastal areas.
Japan is a common place where tsunamis are formed. There has been over 195 recorded events there. On Dec 26, 2004, an Indian Ocean tsunami was formed that killed over 200,000 people. Right before the tsunami hit, there was an event called a drawback, which happens right before a tsunami comes to shore. The water usually receeds dramatically past the point that water usually submerges the land. In India people ran to the not normally exposed land to gather fish and other aquatic animals not knowing that there was about to be multiple tidal waves come crashing down on them. If they were aware of the signs, they may have been able to save lives including their own,
