The hyperbolic distribution has four parameters and the logarithm of i
ts probability density function is a hyperbola. The distribution has b
een used to analyze data from different scientific areas and in partic
ular data from earth science. Some of the most important properties of
this flexible distribution are discussed. Good agreements are found w
hen fitting the distribution to wind, sea-level and wave observations.
These agreements are better than can be obtained when applying the tr
aditionally used distributions such as the Weibull, the log-normal, an
d the Rayleigh distribution. Return periods calculated from the distri
bution are also in agreement with observations. A case of fitting the
two-dimensional version of the distribution to a set of data consistin
g of simultaneous recordings of wave height and wave period is discuss
ed.