A tsunami (plural: tsunamis or tsunami; from Japanese: 津波, lit. "harbour wave";[1] English pronunciation: /tsuːˈnɑːmi/) , also known as a seismic sea wave or as a tidal wave, is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions(including detonations of underwater nuclear devices), landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. In being generated by the displacement of water, a tsunami contrasts both with a normal ocean wave generated by wind and with tides, which are generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun on bodies of water.