digg

Facebook Connect Join Digg About

The Longest Waves in the World (Pics + Video)

fogonazos.blogspot.com — Twice a year, between the months of February and March, the Atlantic Ocean waters roll up the Amazon river, in Brazil, generating the longest wave on the Earth. The phenomenon, known as the Pororoca, is caused by the tides of the Atlantic Ocean wich meet the mouth of the river. This tidal bore generates waves up to 12 feet high for over a half houe

Who dugg this? Made popular Mar 13, 2007

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community. Take the Tour to learn more.

75 Comments

show profanity settings
expand all
  • TedwardRoberts, on 10/12/2007, -5/+57that's some nasty lookin' water.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+33You forgot to add dirtiest water in the world.
  • taylorscott, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23DiggLord -

    The waves at Chicama are about 1.6 kilometers, with surfers getting maybe a 3 minute ride. These waves up the Amazon are much longer (though they are not available year-round). The record holder surfed the Pororoca for 37 minutes and traveled 12.5 kilometers.

    Check your facts.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicama
  • iamcrazyed, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19"Surfers have only recently realized the extreme challenge of surfing the “Pororoca”, despite the fact of the large risks involved; ship waste and wreckage, poisonous snakes, and forever being called "diarrhea-surfer-boy" by friends and family."
  • teamparadox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11I would imagine its because its going above normal water levels and picking up debris from the shoreline. Also the river doesnt generally have a current so sudden and so strong so its stirring sediment from the bottom as well.
  • teamparadox, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Thats crazy, great post.

    I'd be a little worried surfing in that, not only does it look like sewage but the article says you never know whats in the wave..trees, boats, wreckage. Could be painfull.

    Of course if your a surfer the idea of a wave that lasts so long must be incredibly hard to pass up.
  • elnerdo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I live in New Jersey, I would never say that.
  • Mipmap, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8WEAR A CONDOM! I cannot stress this enough. These waters contain the candiru fish, which is attracted to urine and will swim up your penis. Then it will lodge itself in there with spikes and suck your blood. Surgery is the only option.
  • Otto, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9There are only a few places in the world where the waves regularly last over a minute and are surfable. Sometimes you can get lucky, but usually you're talking 20-30 seconds for a good wave. It's all about the speed. For a wave to get really big, it also has to move very fast, which means that you run out of shallows quickly.
  • elnerdo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Sorry, I forgot to dot my comma.
  • firekrakcer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6You sir are an idiot.
  • rkoopmann, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@electricpeak (kinda)

    it seems like this is a good example of when an 'alternate sources' feature would be helpful for deduping digg.
  • Ngai, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Its has nothing to do with diseases!!!

    The Amazon collects water from just over 40 percent of South America's Landmass, through the thousands of tributaries that join the main branch of the Amazon river. Of these tributaries, 17 are over 1600(1000 miles) kilometres long. (this is what gives it the brown color!!!!) not because its dirty.

    http://www.mbarron.net/Amazon/factfile.htm
  • firekrakcer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5He is totally cereal.
  • danobrien23, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5loose sediment? plus the water flow is probably greater and the water is probably more shallow in the pictures with the brown water

    above answer is better
  • twiztedambience, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5so here's the solution: quit wetting your pants when swimming
  • themarq, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10As a prairie kid, born and raised I know nothing about surfing.
    How long would a person expect to stay on a typical ocean wave... two or three minutes?
  • vanscott, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7two or three minutes is a dream for most surfers I know. A good wave will get you 20 secs to a minute....i minute is very very long though. 37 minutes? I don't care who you are your legs will be rubber after 5 minutes.

    That is very dirty water, I imagine you're in bed with a nasty illness after spending a few minutes in it.
  • JavaApe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I've seen a number of comments on the color of the water -- that's actually normal for the Amazon. I have an MS in limnology, and used to collect fish from South America. The Amazon basin has a TON of organic matter (big jungle) and as the water percolates through the soils it picks up quite a bit of DOC (dissolved organic carbon) and acquires it's characteristic coffee color. This water is very soft, slightly acid, and for the most part safe enough to drink as long as you're not downstream from a village! These waves will stir up some serious sediment and debris, but the water is SUPPOSED to be that color!
  • ayeroxor, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6People whom you dislike also say 2+2=4. But you know better, right?
  • brunocosta, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Malaria isn't transmitted by water, only by mosquitoes ;P
  • Ngai, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5The longest i've seen is usually about 40 sec - 1 minute and half... but thats for expierenced surfers though..... the beginners stay on for about 7 seconds, if they're lucky.
  • listrophy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I'm not a limnologist, but I used to work for some... as a result, I learned some pretty obscure things...

    My word of the day for digg: Seiche (say'sh or sesh)

    A free or standing wave oscillation of the surface of water in an enclosed basin that is initiated by local atmospheric changes, tidal currents, or earthquakes. Similar to water sloshing in a bathtub.

    In some moderately-size lakes during winter, ice can unexpectedly pop and crack near the shore on a regular periodic basis. This happens because the seiche in the lake has just pushed an extra amount of water beneath the local ice, bulging and cracking it. In my nearby lake, the period is around 20 to 25 minutes. Obviously the Amazonian seiche has a bit longer period.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5"Surfers have only recently realized the extreme challenge of surfing the “Pororoca”, despite the fact of the large risks involved; ship waste and wreckage, poisonous snakes, to name just a few."

    ***** the snakes and wreckage.......the goddamn CANDIRU are lurking in these waters!
  • Ngai, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4you guys are right...

    The Amazon collects water from just over 40 percent of South America's Landmass, through the thousands of tributaries that join the main branch of the Amazon river. Of these tributaries, 17 are over 1600(1000 miles) kilometres long.
  • DevinOlsen, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6It entirely depends on where you are, and the time of year... 10-15 seconds seems to be average (however that's just from my personal experiences). There can be waves that last much longer, as well some waves may only last 5 seconds.

    Either way, nothing can beat the feeling of riding a wave into shore =)
  • taylorscott, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5The name of the fish 'whymanwhy' refers to is Candiru. It swims into the gill cavities of other fish, erects a spine to hold itself in place, and feeds on the blood in the gills, earning it a nickname as the "vampire fish of Brazil". Apparently, it is attracted to blood and urine, and has been known to insert itself into human orifices from time to time.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candir%C3%BA
  • drethedog, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8I used to go fishing there back in the day, beautiful place...
  • Sasquatch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3So has Steve Kings record been broken yet? 7+ miles (1 hour 16 minutes) on the Severn bore in the UK

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/4899262.stm
  • mrmcbastard, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6I wondered the same thing. I've only been to the ocean once, and I've never seen anyone surf in person, only on TV and in the movie Surf Ninjas!
  • ayeroxor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4How hard does one have to try in order to submit a description with the word 'houe'? I mean, you really have to be stoned because last I checked, Digg FORCES a spell-check. Congratulations to you, Mister I-Can't-Wait-One-*****-Second-To-Read-The-SpellCheck-Report. You're a True Man of Genius.
  • Aliarse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I've never surfed in my life, but watching that vid made me want to have a go. Although, not in that water.
  • Merrick178, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Actually tsunami waves can stretch for miles... While they only go a few inches above sea level they still are LOOOOONG.
  • semengilligan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have seen programs on this and its defiantly cool but also one of the longest waves and one of the hardest waves to surf but i would try it for sure after duct taping all orifices. After wipe outs it takes up to 30 Min's to pick up the surfer due to currents so 30 minutes in that water maybe ill pass
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+226 minute Google video
    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5268727977985536658
  • Otto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2When you run a giant amount of water along a big muddy area very quickly...
  • Toddbrew1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Diareah surfer boy. I just about fell off my chair. That water does look gross. A big tree would be quite a suprise to surf's up to.
  • hiPpymIck, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Surfin + Pink Floyd = Crystal Voyager http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=crystal+voyager&search=Search
  • Just1nD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1poisonous snakes caught my attention, maybe because they scare the ***** out of me
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Looks like theyre surfing on sewage.
  • JoeCool1986, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3For the typical waves/surfers, I would say no more than a minute at the very most. Really experienced surfers though can easily surf horizontally down the wave for a good while until they either fall off or the wave dissipates. But still, anything more than a minute is pretty freaking amazing.
  • hiPpymIck, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2not to mention the pirahna fish
  • DiggLord, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@sctechguy

    I'm sorry i'm not perfect like you.
  • twiztedambience, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1yea the title is a bit misleading.. but it gets the point across
  • r3nd3rman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1There is an amazing documentary done by Bill Heath - www.bhandf.com on surfing the amazon river. Winning at the Sundance Festival for best story line.

    you can watch a clip here http://www.bhandf.com/2007/qt%20video/pororoca.mov



  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1great pictures
  • diggernaught, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The color of that water makes me sick. I wouldn't pee in it let alone surf.
  • mortigon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1That water looks like someone biled everywhere
  • brandonbrain, on 09/10/2008, -0/+0Those waves look like wakes from an oil tanker.
  • abigboat, on 06/09/2009, -0/+0brazil has all sorts of marvels.... beautiful beaches, beautiful women, and CHEAP BEACHFRONT REAL ESTATE-- http://www.investmentsonthebeach.com you can buy a beachfront house for $59,000 right on the pipeline.....

  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 75 of 75 discussions

  • Add a Comment

    Login or register to comment!
    Or, sign-in super fast with your Facebook account ...


© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content created and posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain | Terms of Use Updated | Privacy Policy
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.