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Set the size of an earthquake, choose whether the seafloor near the coast sinks, and watch the wave cross a model ocean; tap the sea to read its depth and the wave's speed. A replay follows the 2011 Japan tsunami across the Pacific. The page lists what the model leaves out (it uses shallow-water equations, no Earth rotation or wave breaking, and an invented coastline) and corrects the idea that a tsunami is a wall of water.

One plate of Laplace's Mini World, a free, non-commercial collection of 127 interactive 3D models in English and Chinese. No account or ads. Text, pictures and models are CC BY-NC 4.0.

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