Sign-In
Cart
Surge: Why the Sea Rises Without Warning
Paperback
Series: What the Earth Does, Book 3
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN13: 9798173309495
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Sep 10 2026
Pages: 142
Weight: 0.44
Height: 0.30 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Sep 10 2026
Pages: 142
Weight: 0.44
Height: 0.30 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
A fishing boat was carried over a wooded spit of land and out into the open sea. The two people aboard said afterwards that they had looked down at the treetops as they passed. That was 1958, in an Alaskan inlet, and the water that did it reached 524 metres up the opposite hillside - higher than the Empire State Building, and by a wide margin the largest wave ever measured. It was caused by a rock falling into a bay. There was no earthquake, no storm, and no warning of any kind. Surge is about water arriving where it should not be, and about the fact that it arrives in four completely different ways, which kill differently and need entirely different things done about them. Inside you will find: - The dam in the Italian Alps that held perfectly while the town below it was destroyed
- Twelve transatlantic telegraph cables that broke in order, and timed a landslide nobody saw
- The drowned country under the North Sea, and how you find a wave that happened eight thousand years ago
- Why a storm surge is not a wave at all, and what actually makes one
- The country that cut cyclone deaths a hundredfold using concrete rooms on legs and volunteers on bicycles
- The wave sailors described for two hundred years before an instrument finally caught one
- Why the tide in one Canadian bay rises sixteen metres and in the ocean outside it rises less than one
- And the cities that are sinking faster than the sea is rising Twenty-six short chapters, twenty hand drawn diagrams where a picture says it better than a sentence, a box of surprising facts in every chapter, and a closing thought. The book ends with a quiz and a page of sources. The third volume of What the Earth Does, after Ash and Fault. For readers of Simon Winchester, and for anyone who has ever stood on a harbour wall and wondered how high the water has been.
- The drowned country under the North Sea, and how you find a wave that happened eight thousand years ago
- Why a storm surge is not a wave at all, and what actually makes one
- The country that cut cyclone deaths a hundredfold using concrete rooms on legs and volunteers on bicycles
- The wave sailors described for two hundred years before an instrument finally caught one
- Why the tide in one Canadian bay rises sixteen metres and in the ocean outside it rises less than one
- And the cities that are sinking faster than the sea is rising Twenty-six short chapters, twenty hand drawn diagrams where a picture says it better than a sentence, a box of surprising facts in every chapter, and a closing thought. The book ends with a quiz and a page of sources. The third volume of What the Earth Does, after Ash and Fault. For readers of Simon Winchester, and for anyone who has ever stood on a harbour wall and wondered how high the water has been.
Also from
Rivers, Silas
Why the Sky Does What It Does: A Curious Atlas of the Sun, the Seasons, the Tides, and the Lights Overhead
Rivers, Silas
Paperback
$11.99
Also in
Environmental Studies
Wildly Successful Farming: Sustainability and the New Agricultural Land Ethic
DeVore, Brian
Hardcover
$26.95
The Darkness Manifesto: On Light Pollution, Night Ecology, and the Ancient Rhythms That Sustain Life
Eklöf, Johan
Hardcover
$12.99
Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World
McNeill, J. R.
Paperback
$10.99
Too Many People?: Population, Immigration, and the Environmental Crisis
Angus, Ian
Butler, Simon
Paperback
$27.55
The Return of Collective Intelligence: Ancient Wisdom for a World Out of Balance
Dyer, Dery
Paperback
From $9.99
Without Reservation: Awakening to Native American Spirituality and the Ways of Our Ancestors
Kritkausky, Randy
Paperback
From $10.99
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Kimmerer, Robin Wall
Paperback
$19.80
The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth
Schlanger, Zoë
Paperback
$17.99
Up on Cove Mountain: Adventure, Tragedy, and a Quest for Meaning on the Appalachian Trail
Swift, Earl
Hardcover
$28.80
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Kimmerer, Robin Wall
Hardcover
$38.00
The Traveler: One Man's Quest for Humanity from the South Seas to Revolutionary Paris
Wulf, Andrea
Hardcover
$34.20
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
Sheldrake, Merlin
Paperback
$18.00
The Ghost of the Mountains: Unraveling the Secrets of the Snow Leopard
Suryawanshi, Kulbhushansingh
Hardcover
$28.80
Our Wild Familiars: How Animals Are Adapting to Cities and Reshaping the Natural World
Werb, Dan
Hardcover
$27.00
Brought to You by: How Corporations Warped the Truth, Conned the Public, and Broke Democracy
Westervelt, Amy
Hardcover
$28.50
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate--Discoveries from a Secret World
Wohlleben, Peter
Hardcover
$26.06
The World Beneath Our Feet: The Hidden Life of Soil and Why It Matters to Us All
Ashwood, Frank
Hardcover
$27.00
We Will Be Jaguars (Reese's Book Club Pick): A Memoir of My People
Nenquimo, Nemonte
Anderson, Mitch
Paperback
$16.20
As If We Were Staying: How We Build a Flourishing Future in a World That's Falling Apart
Scott, Spencer R.
Paperback
$19.00
The Earth Said Remember Me: How to Revive Our Memories and Restore the Planet
Mark, Jason Dove
Hardcover
$22.49
Fires in the Night: The Earth Liberation Front, the Fbi, and a Secret History of Eco-Sabotage
Wolfe, Matthew
Hardcover
$27.90
The Summer of Death: The Great Heat Wave of 1936 and the Making of Modern-Day America
Williams, Geoff
Hardcover
$33.25
Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization
McKibben, Bill
Hardcover
$28.49
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
Egan, Timothy
Paperback
From $10.99
Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Likes to Walk Outside
Offerman, Nick
Paperback
$18.00
In the Range of Fire and Ice: A Human and Natural History of Washington's Cascades
Williams, David B.
Hardcover
$28.45
Plastic Inc.: The Secret History and Shocking Future of Big Oil's Biggest Bet
Gardiner, Beth
Hardcover
$30.40
Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard
Tallamy, Douglas W.
Hardcover
$28.50
Where the Earth Meets the Sky: A Story of Penguins, People, and Place in Antarctica
Blight, Louise K.
Hardcover
$30.40
Natural Habitats and Wildlife Gardening: Inviting Nature Into Your Backyard
McCoshum, Shaun
Paperback
$28.45
Romp!: A Journey Through the Natural History of Otters and Why They Matter
Island, Heide, PhD
Hardcover
$27.55
Wildlife Anatomy: The Curious Lives & Features of Wild Animals Around the World
Rothman, Julia
Paperback
$18.04
Leave the Lights on: How Joyful Decisions Can Save Our Species
Zhao, Jiaying
Dunn, Elizabeth
Hardcover
$27.90
Pests & Other Friends: Discover the True Nature of the Most Maligned Animals
Berryman, Halsey
Hardcover
$23.74
Alaska Literary Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry
Lord, Nancy
Grace Moler, Shaelene
Holleman, Marybeth
Paperback
$28.45
Otherworldly America: Explore the Most Unique Natural Wonders of the United States
Guzman, Jake
Hardcover
$38.00
The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It's Too Late
Beyond Plastics
Enck, Judith
Mahoney, Adam
Hardcover
From $17.99
AP Environmental Science Premium, 2027: Prep Book with 5 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice
Thorpe, Gary S., M. S.
Paperback
$25.64
Polar War: Submarines, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic
Rosen, Kenneth R.
Hardcover
$27.55
Clearing the Air: A Hopeful Guide to Solving Climate Change in 50 Questions and Answers
Ritchie, Hannah
Hardcover
$25.16
Torched: How a City Was Left to Burn, and the Olympic Rush to Rebuild L.A.
Vigliotti, Jonathan
Hardcover
$27.00
Compost After Reading: A Practical Manifesto for Purposeful Decomposition
Marketos, Cassandra
Paperback
$18.99
Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization
McKibben, Bill
Paperback
$17.99
On Island Time: A Traveler's Atlas: Illustrated Adventures on and Around the Islands of Washington and British Columbia
O'Leary, Chandler
Paperback
$23.70
Seasonal Folktales: Myths, Magic & Folklore of the North, from Scotland to Scandinavia
Graham, Morvern
Hardcover
$23.74
How to Fall in Love with the Future: A Time Traveller's Guide to Changing the World
Hopkins, Rob
Hardcover
$28.45
Start with a Bear: Humans, Grizzlies, and the Power of Stories on a Crowded Planet
Alagona, Peter S.
Hardcover
$28.50
Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail
Lankford, Andrea
Paperback
$18.99
Yosemite Falls: Reckoning with California History and the Gospel of John Muir
Duane, Daniel
Hardcover
$27.55
For the Love of Bats: Exploring Nature at Night with the West's Flying Mammals
Desautels, Niki
Paperback
$23.70
The Carbon Wave: A Story of Democracy, Parenthood, and the Race to Protect Our Planet
Stokes, Leah C.
Hardcover
$31.30
Mother of God: An Extraordinary Journey Into the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon
Rosolie, Paul
Paperback
$18.99
At Home in Every Season: Crafts, Activities and Rituals for Families
Adamo, Michael
Adamo, Courtney
Paperback
$31.34
Bird Talk: Hilariously Accurate Ways to Identify Birds by the Sounds They Make
Rowland, Becca
Paperback
$16.14
Provisions: Finding Home Through the Food Folklore of the Appalachian Table
Held Opelt, Amanda
Hardcover
$28.50
Let's Become Fungal!: Mycelium Teachings and the Arts: Based on Conversations with Indigenous Wisdom Keepers, Artists, Curators, Feminists and Mycolog
Ostendorf-Rodríguez, Yasmine
Paperback
$28.45
The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas, Revised Edition
Dennis, Jerry
Paperback
$18.00
Nature's Echo: Harnessing Ancient Feedback Loops to Heal a Changing Planet
Crowther, Thomas
Hardcover
$28.49
5 Steps to a 5: AP Environmental Science 2027: Practice AP Tests + AP Content Review + Digital Exams
Mayer, Courtney
Paperback
$27.85
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition
Reisner, Marc
Paperback
From $12.99
Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science
Hernandez, Jessica
Paperback
From $11.99
Warden Force: The Worst of the Worst and Other True Game Warden Adventures: Episodes 101-114
Hodges, Terry
Paperback
$14.95
Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark
Henion, Leigh Ann
Hardcover
$28.50
Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have
Schlossberg, Tatiana
Paperback
$18.99
The Secret Life of a Cemetery: The Wild Nature and Enchanting Lore of Père-Lachaise
Gallot, Benoît
Paperback
$17.05
Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie
Hage, Dave
Marcotty, Josephine
Hardcover
$28.80
Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 120 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness
Kloos, Scott
Paperback
$26.59
The Secret World of Weather: How to Read Signs in Every Cloud, Breeze, Hill, Street, Plant, Animal, and Dewdrop
Gooley, Tristan
Paperback
$18.00
Pacific Northwest Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Alaska Blueberries to Wild Hazelnuts
Deur, Douglas
Paperback
$24.69