As the wave passes over the shallow area its shape is raised and steepened, creating a localized wave formation. The size and shape of the Bombora waves make them attractive to surfers. They can be quite dangerous to surf on because of the size and the shallowness of the water over a submerged rock shelf or sand bank/bar.
Bombora waves are formed far out at sea, this is known as ground swell. They start off as ripples caused by the wind and slowly become bigger as they come to shore. As the energy hits the rock shelf or sand bar, it gets pushed up causing the wave to suddenly rise and making the waves very big.
The conditions that make the Bombora waves are the biggest is: storm far out to sea previous days, and high tide also makes the waves bigger. Bombora waves are quite rare and only happen in certain parts of the world.
The picture below shows a typical bombora spot. At Queenscliff near the headlands you can see a submerged rock platform and this pushes the wave up to its unique shape.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr9yN4qFLP4
the video link above ^^ is of some bombora waves. They people bodyboarding the waves are 14 kilometres out to sea on a shallow reef. The wave is massive, 15-20 feet but not very wide. The wave only forms over the reef which isn't very wide either. At 2:15 you can see that the wave ends very suddenly and this is because the reef finished and drops back down to the bottom of the ocean.
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