How do waves interact with water?

Waves interact in a very unique way with the water. Waves often line up parallel to the water surface due to refraction of waves. The parallels depends on the angle from where the waves are hitting the water.

If the waves are coming from deep down the ocean at an angle to the surface, they will most probably refract towards the shallower part of the water and curve around which makes them even more parallel to the surface of water.