shorebreak

Waves breaking shoreward

Shorebreak is a wave that breaks directly on or very close to the shore, where the water meets the beach.

These waves form when incoming swells hit a steep, shallow bottom and collapse abruptly rather than rolling in gradually.

Shorebreak can be surprisingly powerful and dangerous, slamming swimmers and bodyboarders onto hard-packed sand: The shorebreak at that beach has broken plenty of necks.

surfing

bodyboarding

Prone foam-board wave riding

skimboardingShoreline board sport
bodysurfingSwimming with the breakers
wedgeTapered splitting tool

barrel · tube · slab · closeout · sandy bottom · timing · duck dive · fins · handplane · prone

oceanography

water depth

Measure of submersion distance

wave heightVertical measure of swells
nearshoreClose to the coastline
turbulenceChaotic flow patterns

aeration · foam · whitewater · erosion · deposition · bathymetry · refraction

hazard

impact zone

Area receiving the blow

spinal injuryTrauma to vertebral column
bodyboarderProne surfboard rider
bodysurferSwims atop breaking waves

shallow water · sandbar · backwash · lifeguard · warning signs · pounding · violent · undertow · wipeout · tumbling

shorebreak

bodyboarding

water depth

impact zone

shorebreak

Opposites

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Family