Explosion waves were simulated by plunging a parabolic surface of revolution in and out of an indoor t est basin 3 feet deep by 92 feet square. These impulsively-generated Water waves are found to be dispersive as evident from the following properties : The period and the celerity of the individual waves increase with travel time, and the amplitude of each wave group decreases. It is shown that the eventual shoaling in approaching the coast limits the dispersion process, and that the waves eventually amplify like other gravity waves. The run-up on the beach is a function of the wave steepness (H/L) at the beginning of the slope and the steepness of the slope itself. The run-up of any one wave is also affected by the preceding and following waves in the group. Experimental results on dispersive wave attenuation in water of constant depth are in fairly close agreement with theory. The results on amplification due to shoaling indicate that a modification of Green's Law is necessary for describing these waves.