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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 31, 2004 Since you asked Tsunami, tidal wave do differ I keep reading stories about tsunamis and tidal waves that indicate they are one and the same. Isn’t there a big difference between the two? — F. J., Grants Pass You are absolutely right, F.J. About them being different, we mean. Some in the media have mistakenly been calling the deadly tsunami that struck Dec. 26 a "tidal wave." (Webster does say "tidal wave" is the nontechnical term for a tsunami.) A tsunami is caused by a displacement of water created by something like an earthquake, volcanic eruption or even a meteor impact, according to the experts at the U.S. Geological Survey. A landslide into or under the ocean or an ice shelf breaking apart also can cause tsunamis. The tsunami that struck Sunday was caused by the slippage of two tectonic plates, they say. Advertisement A tectonic plate? Glad you asked. That’s a huge chunk of "crust" that carries the continents and seas above Earth’s molten mantle. The earth’s core is believed to be a chunk of solid iron about the size of the moon, in case you were wondering. Tidal waves are associated with tides — the result of the gentle gravitational pull of the moon, sun and planets. A tsunami’s effect can be greatly worsened during high tide. Incidentally, the word "tsunami" comes from the Japanese language. "Tsu" means harbor; "nami" translates into wave, so a rough English translation is "harbor wave"; harbors often amplify a tsunami’s power. Our closest brush with a tsunami was in March 1964 when a massive Alaskan earthquake sent a tsunami that, in its third and fourth waves, devastated Crescent City, Calif., killing 11 people there and damaging property on much of the West Coast. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers