July 23, 1765 Tsunami: Sweden
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Sweden on July 23, 1765. The water rose as high as 1.2 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
Where the waves reached
The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- July 23, 1765
- Source
- Sweden
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Maximum water height
- 1.2 m (3.9 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 0.3
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Erroneous entry
- Source location
- 65.200° N, 21.300° E
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Reference #43 merges two dates into one description. Reference #1879 (Mallet and Mallet) distinguishes them. On July 14 there was an earthquake in Pitea and also in Lulea, Sweden. On July 23 in the same location, "The sea ebbed and flowed more than twenty times in a short space to the extent of 3 or 4 feet." Mallet and Mallet go on to to say, "During a terrible storm of thunder, lightning, and rain. The Annual Register gives the date 26th July, as also v. Hoff, quoting Cotte, who places the earthquake at Lackman."
Every runup
Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.
| Where | Country | Km from source | Water height, m | Inland, m | Measured by | First wave, UTC | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitea | Sweden | 16 | 1.2 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1765The 1700sTsunamis of SwedenThis day in weather historyAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 485.