Square waves may be a spectacle to behold but they can unfortunately prove fatal if you find yourself caught up in them.
You may or may not know that ocean waves form when an energy source passes through the water.
This could be anything from strong winds to severe weather, gravitational pull or even underwater disturbances like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Advert
While the energy of the swash and backwash determines the type of wave - either constructive or destructive - beachgoers and swimmers are being warned to keep their eyes peeled for square waves.
In some regions of the world, you may notice the waves creating a pattern on the water’s surface akin to a chessboard.
Oceanographers believe that square waves don’t actually result from anything taking place beneath the water.
Instead, they believe that weather patterns force waves to form at different angles and when two opposing swells collide, these spectacular-looking square waves are created.
While amazing to look at, Sufer Today writes that this phenomenon is rare and extremely dangerous as it’s usually associated with strong and localized rip tides.
Square waves - also known as cross sea or grid waves - can reach up to 10 feet tall and can disappear as fast as they appear.
Therefore, if you want to avoid being pulled into a rip tide, then you should exit the water immediately if you spot them forming.
Unfortunately, cross swells are so strong that it’s extremely difficult to swim out of them if you get caught - even if you’re an extremely strong swimmer.
They’ve also previously been known to cause serious ship accidents and boating wrecks.
.jpg)
As per the European Space Agency (ESA), square waves caused a huge percentage of shipwrecks between 1995 and 1999.
If you’re not put off by the tremendous power that square waves can have and you want to see the occurrence for yourself then the most famous place in the world to watch them is the French island of Île de Ré.
The small island is situated just off the coast of La Rochelle and regularly sees tourists flocking to its shores to gain a glimpse of the terrifying cross swells.
Meanwhile, square waves have also previously been sited in the South Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans.
Footage of the square waves has previously been shared by Facts Verse on YouTube and has drawn over 19 million views.
Taking to the comments section to have their say one user typed: “Come to New Zealand and you will see the Tasman sea meet the Pacific ocean. It's an amazing phenomenon.
“Turquoise green meets deep blue, and there's a distinguished line that defines the meeting of the 2 bodies of water. A truly spectacular sight that one should venture to witness within their lifetime.”
A second commented: “I've seen where two seas meet! There's a beautiful sight in Ecuador where you see one side and ominous murky green and the other side a blue ocean so you go from sea green to blue ocean and it is quite amazing because there's a straight line as far as you can see! Mother nature is crazy! Always respected.”
“Wow! The ocean can be dangerous,” wrote a third user. “Thanks for pointing that out.”