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Show WHERE WAVES RUN HIGHEST Although M-'vcrc tempests oftn lash both ihe Atlantic and the Pacific oceans into mighty waves, there Is reason to believe that the most tremendous tre-mendous seas are those that run south of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn Sailors In modern times have never eeen such waven as those described by early navigators, which were reported re-ported to rise to the height of one hundred and thirty feet La Perouso, Indeed, asserted that he saw waves In the Pnciric towering to a height Of nearly two hundred feet. In these more prosaic, days wc rajl oniy av that the highest wave yet measured i had an altitude of about fifty-two feet. That was in the Southern ocean, a little north of the antarc tic continent ; and it Is quite certain that tbe highest high-est waves ever seen in that region did not exceed fifty-eight feet. The highest high-est waves ever observed In the Indian In-dian ocean were about forty feet. The highest waves In the North Atlantic are from twenty-five to twenty-nine feet, and in tbe Mediterranean, from bixteen to nineteen feet. Even the smallest of these mighty waves has great destructive power, for they often travel at a speed of twenty-five miles an hour. A wave thirty feet high contains thousands of tons of water, and when this Immense force is exerted against any structure, the ruin wrought Is likely to be impressive. im-pressive. Tho great slr.e of the waves In high southern latitudes is explained by the fact thai south of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn there is neither windward nor leeward shore, and the prevailing winds are westerly. So when a westerly gale springs up, ill finds a long westerly swell, the effect of a previous wind, still running. The! new born wind Increases the steep- j ness of this swell and forms majestic storm waves that sometimes reach a , length of twelve hundred feet from C resit to crest. The average height in feet of sea waves is about half the1 velocity of the wind that causes them, reckoned in miles an hour. |