Why do the waves come in towards land, and not side to side?

Answer 1

The reason is that the way that the ocean floor rises at it approaches land (which is logical, as Land is simply ocean floor above the sea level). As waves move towards the shore, they rise a bit due to the level of the ocean floor, creating waves.

Answer 2

Waves travel in the ocean, carrying energy with them. The waves you see in the ocean is the effect of the deepwater waves trying to flow around an island.

So as the waves flow around the land, there are turbulent eddies which move toward the land. Those are the waves you see.

It's the same reason, if you stand on a tall building, the wind is always blowing toward the building, regardless of which side of the building you're on. It's the eddies as the wind flows around the building.

Answer 3

This isn't true. If you are on a small island with steep dropoff, you will observe the wavefront just pass by the island. If the shore is solid like rock, the waves will reflect. If the shore is sand, it will absorb the energy of the waves rather than reflect them, like a black body.

If your island is surround by a shelf of shallower water, the 'index of refraction' of the shallow water is higher than that of deep water, because waves move more slowly in shallow water. That will change the incident angle of incoming waves closer to perpendicular. It's the same effect as light entering glass.

Answer 4

Wave Refraction maximum ocean waves are created via winds (frequently for the period of storms). Winds can blow from any route, so at any given spot contained in the sea, waves are regularly coming from and entering into a large form of instructions. even if, in case you imagine of waves at a sea coast, you recognize that they fairly a lot bypass proper in route of the sea coast. In different words, they bypass in route of you, no longer up or down the coast. which means as waves mind-set a sea coast, they turn or “bend” in route of the sea coast, a procedure we call “wave refraction.” (no longer mirrored image: mirrored image is even as a wave bounces off something, like a wall.) the outcome's the wave crests have a tendency to parallel or “adventure” the form of the sea coast as they spoil.

Answer 5

Your initial premise is incorrect.
You can see waves travelling side to side or at any angle with respect to the shore.

Answer 6

it is actually coming side to side ,,, you dont notice it because you are standing on the side of the ocean and not in front of it making the illusion that it is coming towards you

Answer 7

a few reasons actually... because the earth rotates east-west and most of earthly land is near the equator; the land is in the way... techtonic plates push it toward the land because the coastlines act as tectonic plate endings....gravity.