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on 10:15 PM, 1958, July 10th the Lituya Bay was hit by the biggest recorded Tsunami in Alaska. Five people were killed in this tsunami , three people died on land on Litya Bay and the other two died on a boat when they where out at, sea and where 100 feet underneath the water after they sank. The reason the Tsunami happened was because of a earthquake under the sea. The tsunami caused a lot of trees in Lituya Bay to be destroyed and a lot of buildings to crash which they would have to rebuild.

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In July 1958 in Alaska Panhandle the world's tallest tsunami occurred. It was 524 metres tall. The reason that this unfortunate event happened was because an earthquake nearby caused a large a amount of rock to fall in the bay. The force then created a giant wave which rushed through the bay very fast and caused a tsunami. Five people died in the tsunami however it mainly went thought forests so no houses were destroyed. The 5 people that died were on boats in the bay. there boats then sunk in the swell.

Source: https://geology.com/records/biggest-tsunami.shtml

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Home " Records " Tallest Tsunami

A tsunami with a record run-up height of 1720 feet occurred in Lituya Bay, Alaska

On the night of July 9, 1958, an earthquake along the Fairweather Fault in the Alaska Panhandle loosened about 40 million cubic yards (30.6 million cubic meters) of rock high above the northeastern shore of Lituya Bay. This mass of rock plunged from an altitude of approximately 3000 feet (914 meters) down into the waters of Gilbert Inlet (see map below). The impact force of the rockfall generated a local tsunami that crashed against the southwest shoreline of Gilbert Inlet.

The wave hit with such power that it swept completely over the spur of land that separates Gilbert Inlet from the main body of Lituya Bay. The wave then continued down the entire length of Lituya Bay, over La Chaussee Spit and into the Gulf of Alaska. The force of the wave removed all trees and vegetation from elevations as high as 1720 feet (524 meters) above sea level. Millions of trees were uprooted and swept away by the wave. This is the highest wave that has ever been known.

Detail Map: Lituya Bay, Alaska

Eyewitness Accounts from Survivors

(As reported by Don J. Miller in United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 354-C, Giant Waves in Lituya Bay, Alaska, 1960)

Mr. Ulrich and his 7-year-old son, on the Edrie, entered Lituya Bay about 8:00 p.m. and anchored in about 5 fathoms of water in a small cove on the south shore. Ulrich was awakened by the violent rocking of the boat, noted the time, and went on deck to watch the effects of the earthquake-described as violent shaking and heaving, followed by avalanching in the mountains at the head of the bay. An estimated 2 1/2 minutes after the earthquake was first felt a deafening crash was heard at the head of the bay. According to Ulrich,
"The wave definitely started in Gilbert Inlet, just before the end of the quake. It was not a wave at first. It was like an explosion, or a glacier sluff. The wave came out of the lower part, and looked like the smallest part of the whole thing. The wave did not go up 1,800 feet, the water splashed there."
Ulrich continued to watch the progress of the wave until it reached his boat about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes after it was first sighted. Being unable to get the anchor loose, he let out all of the chain (about 40 fathoms) and started the engine. Midway between the head of the bay and Cenotaph Island the wave appeared to be a straight wall of water possibly 100 feet high, extending from shore to shore. The wave was breaking as it came around the north side of the island, but on the south side it had a smooth, even crest. As it approached the Edrie the wave front appeared very steep, and 50 to 75 feet high. No lowering or other disturbance of the water around the boat, other than vibration due to the earthquake, was noticed before the wave arrived. The anchor chain snapped as the boat rose with the wave. The boat was carried toward and probably over the south shore, and then, in the backwash, toward the center of the bay. The wave crest seemed to be only 25 to 50 feet wide, and the back slope less steep than the front.

After the giant wave passed the water surface returned to about normal level, but was very turbulent, with much sloshing back and forth from shore to shore and with steep, sharp waves up to 20 feet high. These waves, however, did not show any definite movement either toward the head or the mouth of the bay. After 25 to 30 minutes the bay became calm, although floating logs covered the water near the shores and were moving out toward the center and the entrance. After the first giant wave passed Ulrich managed to keep the boat under control, and went out the entrance at 11:00 p.m. on what seemed to be a normal ebb flow.

Mr. and Mrs. Swanson on the Badger entered Lituya Bay about 9:00 p.m., first going in as far as Cenotaph Island and then returning to Anchorage Cove on the north shore near the entrance, to anchor in about 4 fathoms of water. Mr. Swanson was wakened by violent vibration of the boat, and noted the time on the clock in the pilot house. A little more than a minute after the shaking was first felt, but probably before the end of the earthquake, Swanson looked toward the head of the bay, past the north end of Cenotaph Island and saw what he thought to be the Lituya Glacier, which had "risen in the air and moved forward so it was in sight. * * * It seemed to be solid, but was jumping and shaking * * * Big cakes of ice were falling off the face of it and down into the water." After a little while "the glacier dropped back out of sight and there was a big wall of water going over the point" (the spur southwest of Gilbert Inlet). Swanson next noticed the wave climb up on the south shore near Mudslide Creek. As the wave passed Cenotaph Island it seemed to be about 50 feet high near the center of the bay and to slope up toward the sides. It passed the island about 2 1/2 minutes after it was first sighted, and reached the Badger about 1 1/2 minutes later. No lowering or other disturbance of the water around the boat was noticed before the wave arrived.

The Badger, still at anchor, was lifted up by the wave and carried across La Chaussee Spit, riding stern first just below the crest of the wave, like a surfboard. Swanson looked down on the trees growing on the spit, and believes that he was about 2 boat lengths (more than 80 feet) above their tops. The wave crest broke just outside the spit and the boat hit bottom and foundered some distance from the shore. Looking back 3 to 4 minutes after the boat hit bottom Swanson saw water pouring over the spit, carrying logs and other debris. He does not know whether this was a continuation of the wave that carried the boat over the spit or a second wave. Mr. and Mrs. Swanson abandoned their boat in a small skiff, and were picked up by another fishing boat about 2 hours later.

Landsat Image: Lituya Bay, Alaska

Conclusions

A third boat was in Lituya Bay at the time of the tsunami. It was anchored near the mouth of the bay and was sunk by the big wave. There are no known survivors from this boat, and it was believed that there were two people on board.

Prior to the July, 1958 tsunami, Don J. Miller of the United States Geological Survey had been studying evidence for the occurrence of large waves in Lituya Bay. He had documented evidence for at least four previous large waves with estimated dates of 1936, 1899, 1874, and 1853 (or 1854). All of these waves were significant in size, but shoreline evidence for all of them was removed by the 1958 wave. Mr. Miller was in Alaska when the July 1958 wave occurred and flew to Lituya Bay the following day. He took the photographs shown above in July and August and documented the older waves in United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 354-C, Giant Waves in Lituya Bay, Alaska, 1960.

With such a history of large waves, Lituya Bay should be considered as a dangerous body of water prone to a few large waves every century. When will the next one occur?

Find Other Topics on Geology.com:

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World's Biggest Tsunami | 1720 feet tall - Lituya Bay, Alaska

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The tallest wave ever recorded was a local tsunami, triggered by an earthquake and rockfall, in Lituya Bay, Alaska on July 9, 1958. The wave crashed against the opposite shoreline and ran upslope to an elevation of 1720 feet, removing trees and vegetation the entire way.

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The 9.1 magnitude earthquake that prompted the tsunami was the third strongest since records began in 1899.

The energy released by the earthquake was equivalent to 23,000 Hiroshima sized atomic bombs.

The highest waves are thought to have reached 65-100 feet in height.

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On the 22nd of May 1960, the most powerful earthquake on earth was recorded. This earthquake led to 1,655 deaths as well as leaving 2 million people homeless. This was caused when the Nazca plate descended 15 metres underneath the South American plate. This was after the Nazca plate released tension. That was how the mega-thrust earthquake happened and was yet to be beaten as the biggest earthquake to ever be recorded in history.

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In 2004 there was a tsunami on boxing day that was tragic and killed 170,000 people and it was over 100 feat high.

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10 July 1958, the Lituya Bay megastunami killed a total of 5 people during the tsunami, which left many people injured and many homes destroyed. The strike-slip earthquake took place on the Fairweather Fault and triggered a rockslide of 40 million 30 million cubic meters.

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-during the Lituya bay tsunami 5 people died tragically.
-the entirety of Lituya bay (1,000,000 km2) was incredibly damaged by the the incident.
-The tip of a large mountain crashed in the water, due to its size it managed to be the sole cause of the tsunami

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The Lituya Bay tsunami happened in Alaska on 10th of July 1958. A total of 5 people were killed in the event, 3 died on the beach where the tsunami happened, and 2 drowned in the sea from it. The tsunami destroyed many homes and left many people injured, and millions of trees were swept away with it. The Lituya Bay tsunami was caused from an earthquake which was caused from a giant rockfall, which triggered a tsunami. This tsunami was 1720 feet tall and is the worlds tallest recorded tsunami.

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by Imogen:

On December 26th, 2004, waves were triggered by a massive earthquake slammed into the coastlines of countries ringing the Indian Ocean. The number of deaths caused by the tsunami was enormous. The boxing day tsunami killed at least 225,000 people across a dozen countries, with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, and Thailand sustaining massive damage. A magnitude 9.3 earthquake occurred on the seafloor off the western coast of Sumatra. It ruptured over a 1200km section of a fault under the sea, causing a huge area of the sea floor to be raised. The tsunami left several millions of dollars of economic loss, affecting fishing and tourist industries, environmental and medical threats including water pollution, flooding and endemic diseases.

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The Thailan Tsunami happened in 2004. It was a very tragic event and was even adapted into a movie called "The Impossible" starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Holland.

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who -Fortunately only 5 people died but many houses and life's would have been destroyed
what - The tsunami reached up to 1,700 feet
where- It was in Alaska specifically in Lituya bay
when-The tsunami occurred on July 9th 1958
why- A earthquake caused this tsunami
The Forest was affected by this tsunami and as any tsunami many people would have been injured and hurt and the whole area would have struggled to recover from this awful event.

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I am researching a tsunami in Lituya Bay, Alaska.
When- This happened July 9 1958. The tsunami at the time was 524 m, the biggest tsunami known to man.

Where- This was located in Lituya Bay in Alaksa, USA.

Who- This might be surprising but, only 5 people died during the tsunami and over 1,000 people were injured.

What- This tsunami swept he entire length of the Lituya Bay(14.5 km) and over the La Chaussee Spit. This tsunami lasted for 6 hours!

Why- An earthquake caused this tsunami along the Fairweather fault triggered a major subaerial landslide.

What was the impact of this tsunami?
1. The forest was deeply affected by the tsunami, over 60 trees were washed away by the tsunami.

2. It took over 7 years to rebuild most of the homes but, some of them were never re-built.

3. The hole of the bay was destroyed by the tsunami, it was quite a sad time.

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1. Who was affected?
No one. No deaths or injuries reported.
2. What happened?
A 8.2 magnitude earthquake and tsunami (the tsunami was 10m high) hit the exact same place, causing substantial damage.
3. What was the cause?
No one really knows. However, the tsunami was seen in a lot more places.
Lachlan Plummer

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what: an earthquake with a 5.7 magnitude
when: 1:40 am 4 of march 2022
why: Inconclusive
who: the general populous in an estimated 250 km of the town
economic damage: up to 5 million USD estimated losses
note: I would have put an image but since the events were recent I was unable to find a photo of the effects

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earthquake at 28 Feb, 12:15 pm (a scary earthquake)
-callum

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Senpai Paint, Jemono, Wates, Boyolali Regency, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

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Japanese village destroyed by tsunami of 2011 

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Senpai Paint, Jemono, Wates, Boyolali Regency, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

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Senpai Paint, Jemono, Wates, Boyolali Regency, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

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The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami occurred at 2:40pm on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, 72 km east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes, causing a tsunami.