A few miles north of downtown Asheville, heavy machinery now sits in the middle of the French Broad River. Concrete forms rise from exposed bedrock. Circular walls of rock and steel push the river aside. Locals stop on bridges to stare at what looks, at first glance, like a strange industrial accident. It is actually one of the most ambitious river surfing projects ever attempted on the East Coast of the United States. The feature is called Taylor's Wave, a human-made standing wave under construction in Woodfin that is expected to draw kayakers, river surfers, boogie boarders, and freestyle paddlers from across the country. The project has been in development for nearly a decade. Engineers have modeled it in a Prague hydraulics laboratory. Environmental consultants studied fish migration routes and flood elevations. Local officials rebuilt park plans around it. The wave itself is being shaped directly into one of the oldest rivers on Earth. The goal is simple enough to expl...
Have you ever witnessed waves being created? Probably not, right? But there are simple ways to simulate ocean wave generation at home or outdoors. Here are a few methods that will impress children and adults alike. Maybe you already know that most of the water waves we see in large bodies like oceans, seas, and lakes are caused by wind or by a mechanical displacement of water generated, for instance, by a landslide or paddles installed in a wave pool. But have you ever seen the birth of a wave in a small space or controlled environment? There are many ways to explain the creation of a wave in a lab-type context to kids and to adults who have never quite understood how this magical phenomenon brings walls of water to the coastline. SurferToday.com imagined a few experiments you could set up at home or in a garden. Shall we produce a few waves? 1. Jump rope or garden hose: the classic wave demonstration A jump rope of garden hose stretched across a yard can stand in for a cross-s...