Seiches and seiche-related phenomena have been observed on lakes, reservoirs, swimming pools, bays, harbors and seas.
The term was promoted by the Swiss hydrologist François-Alphonse Forel in 1890, who was the first to make scientific observations of the effect in Lake Geneva, Switzerland. The word originates from a Swiss French word meaning sway back and forth.
Observers in boats on the lake may not notice that a seiche is occurring due to the extremely long wavelengths.
Photo courtesy of NOAA-Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.
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