Dangerous Water

WATER WORLD

There are many different water features on our planet. Some have naturally occuring causes (tsunamis) and some are man made (dams). Certain water features can cause severe damage and sometimes result in death.

In 2011, there was a tsunami in Japan. This particular tsunami killed more than 18,000 innocent people. A tsunami occurs when a series of ocean waves occur due to an underwater eartquake, landslide or volcanic eruption. The first wave of the tsunami is not the strongest one, however, as time goes on, the waves grow stronger and higher (more violent.) An intensity scale is used to measure the damage that a tsunami causes. A magnitude scale is used to measure the strength of a tsunami.

Dams are man made structures that are made to hold back and control the flow of water in a certain area.They are made of materials such as:earth,rock, brick, concrete (or sometimes a combination of several things.)Dams prevent flooding. When heavy rainfall occurs, the water rushes down slopes sometimes results in water levels rising. This can cause rivers to flood. Dams prevent this by slowing or stopping fast flowing water.

17% of America's Rivers have Dams.

Here is an example of a dam-