The crest of white water spreading down the wave face is characteristic of which wave type?

• A. Spilling wave
• B. Plunging wave
• C. Surging wave
• D. Non-breaking wave

Answer: (A)

When a wave breaks and the white water pours down the front of the face, that spreading cascade is a hallmark of a spilling breaker. This happens on gentler seabed slopes where the wave loses energy gradually as the crest becomes unstable and spills forward, creating foamy water that runs down the front of the wave.

In contrast, a plunging breaker has a steep face that curls over and often forms a hollow tube, so the white water is tied to the lip curling rather than a steady spill down the face. Surging breakers push water up the shore with little distinct breaking and minimal white water rolling down the face, and non-breaking waves don’t collapse into white-water breaks at all.

So the described feature—crest spilling down the wave face—points to a spilling wave.