Hearing An Echo

Have you ever heard your voice echo? All sound travels in waves. When those waves reach your ears, you are able to hear sound. When they hit a hard obstacle, like the glass on a building or the walls of a cave, sound waves bounce back into the air because those obstacles do not soak up sound. When the sound waves bounce off these objects, you hear the sound a second time. That second sound is an echo.

If the sound bounces off only one obstacle, you hear just one echo. But if many surfaces bounce the sound around, you will hear the echo again and again. This can happen in valleys or canyons surrounded by mountains. Low hanging, heavy clouds can also bounce sound off and make an echo.

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