Ocean Waves

Have you ever stood at the edge of the land, where the wet sand tickles your toes. You can hear a rumbling sound that gets louder and louder, like a giant taking a big, deep breath. Swoosh. Then you see me, rushing toward you, wearing a white, foamy hat. I creep up the shore, leaving behind shiny shells and smooth sea glass as little gifts, and then I slide back with a gentle gurgle. Sometimes I am calm, and I just whisper secrets to the listening sand. Other times, I am loud and powerful, crashing with a mighty roar that shakes the ground and sends spray high into the air. I am always moving, always changing, a great blue blanket that covers most of the world. I have been here for a very, very long time, playing this game with the sand and the sky. Who am I. Hello. I am the Ocean Waves.

I don’t dance all by myself, you know. I have two amazing dance partners who help me move. My first partner is the wind. The wind is very playful. It loves to zoom across my surface, tickling the water and making me giggle. My giggles start as tiny little lines called ripples. But the more the wind plays, the bigger my giggles get. The ripples grow and grow, rising up into rolling hills of water. That’s when I become a big, beautiful wave, ready to race to the shore. My other dance partner is much quieter and more mysterious. It’s the moon, shining high up in the night sky. The moon doesn’t touch me, but it has a secret power, a special kind of pull that tugs on all the water in the ocean. This gentle tugging creates a very big, very slow kind of wave called the tide. A very smart man named Sir Isaac Newton was one of the first people to understand the moon's secret pull. He shared his amazing idea, which he called gravity, with the world a long, long time ago, on July 5th, 1687. He figured out that the moon was pulling on me, making me do a slow, gentle dance up and down the shore each day. It’s a secret dance we’ve been doing ever since.

My dance isn’t just for show. I give many gifts to the world. Have you ever seen a person on a surfboard. They wait for me, and when I get big enough, they jump up and ride me like a rollercoaster all the way to the beach. Whee. It’s so much fun to give them a ride. I am also a home and a helper to countless animals. My constant motion stirs up the water, bringing yummy food for fish, crabs, and even big whales. I help keep the ocean clean and healthy for everyone who lives in it. And now, people are learning a new secret about me. My powerful dance can be used to make a special kind of clean energy called electricity. By using my strength, people can power their homes without making the air dirty. My dance is not just beautiful, it’s also very helpful, and I love sharing my energy with the world.