What Creates Ocean Waves?

Ocean waves are great for surfing and destroying sand castles, but where do they come from? Watch this video to find out, or read our explanation below!

Spoiler Alert: It’s Not the Moon

A common misconception is that the Moon creates the waves you surf on at the beach. But this isn't true! The Moon is responsible for the tides, which are technically a type of wave, but not what most people mean when they talk about waves.

Wind Causes Waves

In fact, waves are caused by wind! If you blow across a bowl of soup, you can create waves yourself: little ripples that go outwards to the edges of the bowl. Way out at sea, wind blows along the surface of the water for miles and miles, making ripples that gradually turn into larger and larger waves. These waves travel until they hit land, creating a gnarly curl for surfers to hang 10 from.

Waves Are Moving Energy

A wave that washes your board up on the beach could have come from thousands of miles away - does that mean the water came from far away, too? Nope! In fact, the water is just whatever water was there before the wave hit. Water in waves isn’t moving to the side - it’s moving up and down. That movement pushes the water next to it, which pushes the water next to it, and so on. It’s a lot like a set of dominoes. The energy keeps moving through the water until it finally dissipates by crashing against the shore.