tsunami

The word tsunami: tsu means harbor and nami refers to wave.

The Windows to the Universe website gives a good overview of what a tsunami is.

And thank goodness they have pictures




Here is a NOAA video about the Chilean tsunami last year.



According to Geology.com, The largest tsunami was in 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 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 contiuned 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".

Via the NOAA site, some question/answers:

What year was the first tsunami recorded?


There is geological evidence that large tsunamis have occurred thousands of years ago. In terms of the earliest tsunami in the historical record, a volcano erupted on Santorini Island, Greece and created a large tsunami. The years I've found for this event are 1628 BC and 1410 BC. This tsunami is thought to have so large that it destroyed an entire civilization. The Chinese and Japanese have a long history of recording tsunamis, but I didn't find any dates for the earliest ones of these. Authority: Dr. Hal Mofjeld, interview in February 25, 2005, NOAA Center for Tsunami Research