When towering walls of water strike, their heights can defy belief. These ten historic events are the tallest tsunamis ever measured on land.
Count down from the “smallest” of the giants to the record-shattering wave that carved its mark 1,720 feet up an Alaskan fjord in the 1950s.
No. 10 Krakatoa, Indonesia (1883)
- Peak Height: 138 FT
- Date: August 27, 1883
The cataclysmic collapse of Krakatoa’s caldera launched waves across the Sunda Strait, wiping out coastal towns in Java and Sumatra and claiming an estimated 36,000 lives.
No. 9 Unimak Island, Alaska (1946)
- Peak Height: 138 FT
- Date: April 1, 1946
An unusual “tsunami earthquake” plus a submarine landslide created a 138-foot wall of water that demolished the Scotch Cap Lighthouse and led to the founding of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
No. 8 Tafjorden, Norway (1934)
- Peak Height: 203 FT
- Date: April 7, 1934
A three-million-cubic-yard rockfall plunged into the fjord, sending a 203-foot wave that swept away villages and killed 40 people, making it Norway’s worst natural disaster of the 20th century.
No. 7 Shoup Bay, Alaska (1964)
- Peak Height: 220 FT
- Date: March 27, 1964
The magnitude-9.2 Good Friday quake triggered submarine slides that produced a 220-foot local run-up—the tallest wave of the Pacific-wide 1964 tsunami.
No. 6 Lake Lovatnet, Norway (1936)
- Peak Height: 243 FT
- Date: September 13, 1936
One million cubic yards of rock tumbled from Mt. Ramnefjellet into the lake, generating a 243-foot surge that repeated and surpasse the deadly 1905 Loen tsunami in the same valley.
No. 5 Lituya Bay, Alaska (1936)
- Peak Height: 490 FT
- Date: October 27, 1936
A massive landslide inside the narrow fjord hurled water 490 feet up the surrounding slopes, stripping trees and foreshadowing an even larger megatsunami two decades later.
No. 4 Taan Fiord, Alaska (2015)
- Peak Height: 633 FT
- Date: October 17, 2015
Rapid glacial retreat destabilized a 50-million-cubic-yard slope. When it collapsed into Taan Fiord, the impact unleashed a 633-foot wave—modern proof that climate-driven landslides can spawn gigantic tsunamis.
No. 3 Vajont Dam, Italy (1963)
- Peak Height: 820 FT
- Date: October 9, 1963
A 260-million-cubic-yard limestone slide plunged into the Vajont reservoir, sending an 820-foot wave over the dam crest and down the Piave Valley, killing nearly 2,000 people in minutes.
No. 2 Spirit Lake, Washington (1980)
- Peak Height: 853 FT
- Date: May 18, 1980
Mount St. Helens’ north-flank collapse surged into Spirit Lake, displacing water in an 853-foot wave that scoured nearby hillsides and preceded the volcano’s infamous lateral blast.
No. 1 Lituya Bay, Alaska (1958)
- Peak Height: 1,720 FT
- Date: July 9, 1958
A magnitude-7.8 quake on the Fairweather Fault triggered a colossal rockfall into Lituya Bay, producing the tallest wave ever recorded. The 1,720-foot megatsunami was taller than the Empire State Building!
Bottom Line
Remember, these are simply the largest waves ever recorded and witnessed. There have likely been larger waves throughout the Earth’s history, which is mind-boggling to think about.
