A study programme has been initiated to investigate the impulse waves generated by landslides originating entirely above the water surface It may be seen that the characteristics of this wave depend mainly on the slide volume and the Froude number of the slide upon impact with the water The resulting wave goes through a transition period For the highest wave (usually the first), the wave height becomes stable relatively quickly and decays exponentially during the period of transition, the wave period continues to increase for a long time, the velocity of propagation may be approximated very closely by solitary wave theory.