Waves and Currents Vocabulary

Highest point of a wave

• Crest
• Trough
• Wave Height
• Wavelength

A mass of moving ocean water

• Ocean Current
• Longshore Current
• Rip Current
• Electrical Current

The vertical movement of deep water up to the surface

• Upwelling
• Downwelling
• Longshore Current
• Rip Current

A property of matter representing mass per volume

• Density
• Crest
• Trough
• Gravity

The movement of water from the surface to greater depths

• Downwelling
• Upwelling
• Longshore Current
• Rip Current

The overall direction and movement of water as waves strike the shore at an angle

• Longshore Current
• Rip Current
• Upwelling
• Downwelling

Narrow streams of water that break through sandbars and drain rapidly back to sea.

• Rip Current
• Longshore Current
• Downwelling
• Upwelling

Lowest point of a wave

• Crest
• Trough
• Amplitude
• Wave Height

The vertical distance between the crest and the trough

• Wave Height
• Wavelength
• Amplitude
• Wave Speed

Horizontal distance between two crests or two troughs

• Wave Height
• Wavelength
• Amplitude
• Frequency