April 10, 1821 Tsunami: La Matina, Costa Rica
A tsunami of unknown cause began at La Matina, Costa Rica on April 10, 1821. 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
- April 10, 1821
- Source
- La Matina, Costa Rica
- Cause
- Unknown
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 10.100° N, 83.300° W
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.
The Observatorio Vulcanologico y Sismologico de Costa Rica (Reference #1685) says, "Tsunami y licuefaccion en Barra de Matina, danos en Cartago y San Jose." The same description is for May 7, 1822. There are many more references for the May 7 event. It is unclear if this is an additional event. Included in O'Loughlin and Lander (Reference #1492).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matina | Costa Rica | 12 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1821The 1800sTsunamis of Costa RicaThis 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 2974.