A 58-foot-tall wall of water that appeared off Vancouver Island in 2020 is among the largest rogue waves ever recorded, and it’s the very largest in terms of its proportion to surrounding waves, according to scientists. New research in Scientific Reports describes the gigantic wave, which appeared off the coast of Ucluelet, British Columbia, on November 17, 2020. The rogue wave reached 58 feet tall (17.6 meters)—a height equal to a four-story building. Despite names like “freak waves” and “killer waves,” these swells are normal oceanic phenomena, though their cause remains poorly understood. They’re likely churned into existence by a...