The largest waves in the world

This large format print story was part of the April 2022 issue of National Geographic magazine.

It takes place in Nazaré, a small fishing village on the west coast of Portugal that has become known in recent years for having some of the world’s tallest waves. The graphic explains the influence of Nazaré’s submarine canyon—the largest in Europe and deeper than the Grand Canyon—on the formation of these waves. In collaboration with cartographers Eric Knight (satellite imagery) and Rosemary Wardley (inset map), we present the canyon in a perspective never seen before and describe how it channels and amplifies swells from large winter storms occurring hundreds of miles away.

Nazaré has become one of the world’s most famous destinations for big-wave surfing. Writer Eve Conant includes first person accounts of several award-winning surfers who are regularly found in that part of the world.

Explore the interactive online version (which may be behind a paywall), featuring step-by-step animations and a spectacular surfing video.