1936 Lituya Bay tsunami

A series of waves swept Lituya Bay in Alaska, with a maximum run-up height of 490 feet recorded in Crillon Inlet at the head of the bay. The fisherman Frederickson took his troller through the floating tree debris to the inland end of the bay afterwards and found no sign of whatever had triggered the waves. The petroleum scientist Don Miller reached the bay 16 years later and recorded the trimline the waves had left. Only limited records of the event exist; the four reported eyewitnesses in the bay itself all survived.

Date and time (UTC)

1936-10-27T15:50

Highest recorded water height (m)

149.35

Cause, as the catalogue records it

landslide

NCEI event page

www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/tsunami/event-more-info/1694

Category: Disasters & Incidents

Tags: landslide, alaska, run-up

Coordinates: 58.6, -137.1

Part of Tsunamis with waves of 15 metres or more from 1900 to 1949

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