As ocean surface waves come closer to shore they break, forming the foamy, bubbly surface we call surf. The region of breaking waves defines the surf zone. After breaking in the surf zone, the waves (now reduced in height) continue to move in, and they run up onto the sloping front of the beach, forming an uprush of water called swash. The water then runs back again as backwash. The nearshore zone where wave water comes onto the beach is the surf zone. The water in the breaker zone, or surf zone, is shallow, usually between 5 and 10 m (16 and 33 ft) deep; this causes the waves to be unstable.
Read more about Surf Zone: Animal Life, Tides, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words surf and/or zone:
“Now small fowls flew screaming over the yet yawning gulf; a sullen white surf beat against its steep sides; then all collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“He who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright.”
—William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878)