Speed Scales Table

Object/Phenomenon/Life Form
Speed
Living Things
Olympic swimmer 13 Kilometers/Hour
Dolphin 56 Kilometers/Hour
Greyhound 55 Kilometers/Hour
Horse 60 Kilometers/Hour
Impala (pronghorn) 90 Kilometers/Hour
Cheetah Can maintain an average speed of 66 Kilometers/Hour for a distance of 5.1 Kilometers. Top speed: 120 Kilometers/Hour
Asian Swift (level flight) 170 Kilometers/Hour
Peregrine Falcon (top speed of dives) 300 Kilometers/Hour
Land, Sea, and Air
Continental plate motion A few Centimeters/Year
Tsunami (deep water) 890 Kilometers/Hour
Sound (water) 1,482 Meters/Second
Hurricane, fastest wind speeds more than 200 Kilometers/Hour
Tornado (F-5), fastest wind speeds 450 Kilometers/Hour
Sound (air) 330 Meters/Second = Mach 1
Machines
Commercial Airliner 900 Kilometers/Hour
X-15 Mach 6.7
Space Shuttle Mach 25
Voyager 1 60,000 Kilometers/Hour
Astronomy
  • At the equator, the surface of the Earth is rotating at a speed of roughly 460 Meters/Second about its axis.
  • Voyager 1 is traveling at a speed, relative to the Sun, of 17 Kilometers/Second.
  • Relative to the Earth's surface, meteorites enter our atmosphere at speeds between 18 and 36 Kilometers/Second
  • The Earth is revolving about the Sun at a speed of roughly 28 Kilometers/Second.
  • The Solar System is revolving about the center of our galaxy at a speed of roughly 225 Kilometers/Second.
  • Speed of Light is 300,000 Kilometers/Second. According to special relativity, objects are not able to travel faster than the speed of light.