Video uploaded by KQEDondemand

In this video, QUEST talks with scientists about what makes a monster wave, focusing on the big break north of Half Moon Bay in Northern California known as "Mavericks." The waves there can get as big as a four story building. The waves that surfers are interested in are called surface-wind waves; the size of the wave depends on wind speed, fetch (the distance of water the wind is blowing over), and the duration of the wind.