Japan Earthquake in San Fran..

[Manitou]

Originally Posted by Firefly

There's nothing to stop the wave. So, you generate sufficient force to create a big-ass wave, and since there's precious little to stand in its way, it's got nowhere to go until it hits something (or other conditions are met like subsurface temperature changes, amplification becoming too great to support the wave thereby causing it to topple, etc).

True, and with the depth of the Pacific the wave can travel with speed and yet remain seemingly innocuous on the surface until it reaches shallow shores where the energy is focused and the wave is forced upward.

Nonetheless it is a terrible and awe-inspiring event.