Surf’s Up

Surfers flock to northern Peru to enjoy what’s been called the world’s longest wave. These waves are generated by storms thousands of miles away in the Pacific and Southern Oceans. In the open water between, the waves sort themselves into groups of similar wavelength and speed. With the deep water off Peru, the large swells continue to travel together until close to the shore. Surfers also benefit from the tendency for incoming waves to arrive nearly parallel to the coastline, creating long shoreline stretches for breaking. Where many famous wave breaks can be ridden for seconds, surfers can ride these for minutes! (Image credit: L. Dauphin; via NASA Earth Observatory)